Truck drivers are a group of workers, who are heavily hit by various violations of labour and other rights. With the help of creating two mobile field teams and a mobile app we will create and implement a (live) set of information kit for truck drivers, and network it among them, so they could react and connect properly, whenever violations of their rights occur.

Slovenia, Croatia (locations of the parking spots of truck drivers going through Slovenia and Croatia; Ljubljana, Zagreb)

Each day truck drivers are faced with precarious working conditions, where violations of their rights occur, be it extremely long working times, not being properly paid, etc. First and basic step to not only to limit this scenarios, but to prevent these scenarios is to directly inform truck drivers on their rights. On top of that we have to give to give them a tool in their hand, by which they will be enabled to communicate the violations of their rights to the respected contact persons.

The successful outcome of our initiative will be a growing community of people with same life experiences, who will be able to confront violations of their rights. A community, which on the inside will network all the proper information’s and the experiences, and on the outside will have the daily support of two field advocacy teams. So, concretely, a year from now we’ll be having two advocacy teams for truck drivers, one digital network app for truck – and one ever growing community.

The activities will be two folded. First set of activity will be setting up a team of field advocates for the rights of truck drivers, from Slovenia and Croatia. Then we will together do the mapping exercise and pin point the places at the locations of the parking spots of truck drivers going throughout Slovenia and Croatia, where we will be visiting. We will do that, because, we need to build the sense of community among them, by direct communication, action, empowerment and various organizational tool. Secondly, by building the community among truck drivers through direct informing on their rights, we are building safer conditions on the road in general. And thirdly, by bringing together people with various national and cultural background, we are building intercultural understanding.

-

Direct beneficiaries of the project are the truck drivers. With the help of two field advocacy teams and the use of (mobile app) information’s they will be able to start to form a community among themselves, so that they wouldn’t be closed in a vicious circle of (dis)information’s from (some of) the employers. Broader beneficiaries are the regulatory and other formal institutions, with which the truck drivers are to communicate more on the ground of their daily empowerment.

We are emphasizing, that by implementing this project, we are not building “just” another information matching service, but a community, which on the inside will network all the proper information’s and the experiences, and on the outside will have the daily support of two field advocacy teams, so it’s practically a “live” empowering network, far from being a passive information matching service.

Personnel costs: 37000 EUR Office expences: 1000 EUR Travel, accommodation and subsistence costs: 3500 EUR Costs of buying a vehicle: 3500 EUR Cost of making a mobile app: 1500 EUR Cost of laptop and making and disseminating a PR material: 3500 EUR

We wish to receive concrete advice, comments and ideas on how to go even further on our “bottom up” organizational approach in the project and of course what should / must be after the end of the project, so how to procced with the project in “follow up” phase.