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Tag: coach operator

CPT scores in French minimum wages dispute

UK-based coach operators travelling in France stand to benefit from a major concession to new French rules on minimum wages and conditions thanks to the role played by the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK’s director of policy development, Steven Salmon.

At a high level meeting in Brussels on 9 June, the French Government conceded that “closed door” tours from the UK (and other countries) with non-French customers should be considered as transit operations, and should therefore be exempt from the requirement to match French wages and conditions. This applies whether the tour simply goes from England to France and back, or visits France as part of a longer itinerary including over-night stays.

Steven Salmon says: “The rules originally proposed by the French Government would have placed considerable financial and administrative burdens on CPT coach operator members running tours and short trips to France. The French government representatives accepted that there is no French customer for this work so there is no basis under the Posting of Workers Directive for controls on the pay and conditions of workers carrying it out.

“This issue has been a major cloud hanging over our coach operator members for the last couple of months. This concession will be a huge relief and will enable them to maintain their competitiveness and keep tour prices down for passengers.”

CPT’s chief executive Simon Posner paid tribute to the role Steven Salmon played in securing this major win.
“The key role Steven has played cannot be over emphasised and I know will be warmly welcomed by CPT’s coaching members,” he says. “This success comes close on the heels of France backing down from its unwelcome new interpretation of the EU rules on breaks when two drivers are working together, which was secured by CPT, IRU and other trade bodies working collaboratively to score a major goal for UK coach operators. Once again, the prominent role of CPT in the industry’s relations with the European institutions has paid off, ensuring that our members are able to operate successfully on the Continent.”

Group Travel Awards shortlist announced

The nominees for this year’s Group Travel Awards have been announced.

The event, which takes place on Friday 3 June at the Park Plaza Riverbank, London, and is celebrating its 20th anniversary, is organised by Landor Travel Publications and GTO magazine.

The 25 awards categories all focus on recognising excellence for groups and include best destination, event, canal or riverboat operator, group dining experience, hotel, and European attraction and destination.

16 coach operators will battle it out to win the award for ‘Best Coach Operator for Groups’ (small and large fleet) while there are nine nominees for Best Group Tour Operator.

For the full list of nominees and details of how to book tickets, go to www.grouptravelawards.com

The Group Travel Awards 2016