workers' struggles

Black Monday

Long hours are killing truckers

truck driver haim vachnis

Monday 26 October was a dark day for truck drivers. Three accidents left two drivers dead and one injured. At the slip-road to Highway 431 near Rishon Letzion, Haim Vahnish was killed when his truck, overturned for reasons that are still unclear. Another driver was killed when his truck slammed into a semi-trailer. A third driver was hurt in a third accident.
Thousands of drivers feel that they could have been in their place. Regardless of the circumstances of the accidents, it is clear that at the root of many accidents that end in death are impossible work schedules. The main problem is that the basic wage for most drivers is just the minimum wage, and any extra is paid according to output. Drivers are compelled to work long hours, more than the permitted number, pushed to continue against their will even when fatigue is gaining on them, thereby putting their own lives and those of other road users at risk. A driver who has spent long hours behind the wheel is liable to lose concentration and turn his not infrequently overloaded rig into a potential deathtrap.
In addition to the sorrow they feel, the Vahnish family has expressed their disappointment in and criticism of the way the authorities have behaved following the accident. They told representatives of the Workers Advice Center (WAC) who visited the mourning family on 27 October that even the news of the death they heard from the media. The company for which he worked did not bother to inform the family about the accident. Furthermore, even 24 hours after the event, the family had still not heard from the police regarding the circumstances of the accident and the investigation.
In addition to the pain of loss, there is also the question of insurance. Vahnish, according to his family, had no pension insurance, contrary to legal requirements. If he had been covered, his family would have received at least NIS 4,000 per month in addition to the pension from national insurance. According to a survey carried out by WAC, this situation is not uncommon: many drivers lack pension insurance.
WAC representatives visited the grieving family and told them that the organization is willing to do everything it can in order that such things will not happen again. "We at WAC " said Assaf Adiv, General Director, will work to stop the exploitation and the dangerous schedules in the trucking industry, as well as doing all we can for the families who have lost what is dearest to them.