Peacemaker
As head of the International Road Transport Union, Martin Marmy is fighting to bring peace and prosperity – by improving conditions in the transport industry.
Photo: Yann Mingard/Panos Pictures
“We are working together for a better future globally, a future that will be brought about by the increasing wealth and prosperity road transport helps create”, says Martin Marmy, Secretary General for the IRU (International Road Transport Union).
TEXT: PHIL SAMPSON
From his office in the heart of Geneva, International Road Transport Union Secretary General Martin Marmy surveys the world – literally. On the wall is a king-size map of the planet, put there to serve as a permanent reminder that the IRU exists to represent the views of its 180 members worldwide. And while achieving consensus on that scale may sound like a recipe for Mission Impossible, Marmy has a clear vision to guide him.
Road transport key to stability
“We are working together for a better future globally, a future that will be brought about by the increasing wealth and prosperity that road transport helps create,” he explains. “For wherever prosperity travels, peace is sure to follow. You only have to look around the world to see that the countries with the best transport systems are also the most successful and stable.”For the IRU, realising that better future depends upon two key priorities: sustainable development and facilitation.
Sustainable development is paramount
“Sustainable development is obviously paramount, for without it our children – and their children – will have nothing,” says Marmy. “Here we define our approach through what we call our ‘3 i’s’ strategy, which is to say, innovation, incentives and infrastructure.”Innovation, Marmy explains, has to do with technology to make vehicles safer and reduce their environmental impact. The incentives part comes from governments, to encourage more rapid introductions of better, safer technologies and practices. And infrastructure – safe and sufficient infrastructure, that is – is a prerequisite for the road transport industry.
Road transport without hurdles
Facilitation, he explains, is about making trade happen as efficiently as possible. “In our global economy, transport operators must be allowed to move freely – not get held up at borders for days on end for no good reason,” Marmy says. “That is plainly absurd.”Marmy’s frustration is illustrated by the fact that back in 1982 each European Union member state and every nation bordering the EU signed and ratified the United Nations Economic Committee for Europe (UNECE) convention for the Harmonisation of Frontier Controls for Goods.
Breaking down barriers
“Unfortunately, the rules are seldom applied properly, either within the EU or in certain bordering countries,” Marmy says. “Moreover, many of the ‘old’ EU countries and more and more of the new ones now are introducing neo-protectionist measures to keep foreign trucks out. For example, before January 2008, a Ukrainian professional driver could be required to submit up to 30 documents to obtain a visa to transport goods in EU territory – and that visa was valid for just for six weeks! So we have to break down these barriers.”This is beginning to happen, Marmy says. “During 2008 six amendments to the UNECE convention will be applied as a result of work undertaken by the IRU and its member associations,” he says. “All are aimed at accelerating the transit of goods, vehicles and drivers across national borders.”
An important part of the production process
To illustrate his thinking, Martin Marmy gestures to the cup of coffee before him. “For me to enjoy coffee here in Geneva requires the collaborative efforts of 29 companies in 18 countries,” he explains. “And between each of those companies and nations is a common link – road transport. That makes the truck an essential and integral part of the production process, a fact that needs to be understood and respected by politicians, particularly those of western Europe.
“In the US,” he continues, “they say that if the truck stops, America stops. It’s the same in Asia. But in Western Europe, politicians refuse to countenance that, which is why the region’s international road transport industry is disappearing.”
The truck is at the centre of human needs
Meanwhile, Marmy argues, politicians view the road transport industry as an enormous taxation opportunity. “Here the IRU takes a stand,” he says. “While our members appreciate that they have to pay for cleaner, more efficient vehicles and better road infrastructure, what they refuse to accept is becoming general milk cows. For example, they refuse to subsidise, through additional road toll systems currently spreading over numerous countries, the huge and increasing railway deficit resulting mainly from the lack of liberalisation of this public transport mode.”The truck is a tool of production, he says. “I have a dream that all of us – politicians and the public alike – will come to appreciate that the truck is at the centre of human needs,” Marmy says.
IRU - 60 years of service
Formed in 1948 to assist in the re-building of war-torn Europe by implementing the United Nations’ key road transport facilitation instruments, the IRU(International Road Transport Union) has developed into a global operation headquartered in Geneva with regional liaison committees and dedicated permanent delegations in Brussels, Moscow and Istanbul.IRU’s 180 members cover diverse interests, ranging from passenger and road transport associations to vehicle manufacturers in 73 countries worldwide.
IRU has a permanent staff of 130 led by Secretary General Martin Marmy.
