Truckers accountable for transporting items throughout Europe have initiated a starvation strike in Germany as a part of a weeks-long work stoppage, characterizing it as their “last hope” to make clear the exploitation they are saying they endure.
It was the most recent stage in an motion described as “unprecedented” by union officers, and which has seen some 80 drivers arrange an encampment utilizing their autos at a motorway service station.
Believing their Polish employers wouldn’t reply to their rising desperation amid the 10-week strike, a few of them stopped consuming final week.
The truckers – principally from Uzbekistan and Georgia, with a handful additionally from Tajikistan, Ukraine and Türkiye – began to take meals once more on the weekend after a number of days, however the stoppage itself continues.
The drivers declare they aren’t being frequently paid their salaries – at a each day price of about 80 euros – and have been charged hefty quantities to even take the roles within the first place. They say in addition they face inhumane situations equivalent to having to work extraordinarily lengthy hours.
“I just want to be paid the money that I have earned,” Roman Gujabidze, a Georgian trucker mendacity underneath a blanket behind his truck informed Agence France-Presse (AFP), on the service station in Graefenhausen, outdoors Frankfurt.
He was amongst those that joined the starvation strike, and stated it was “our last hope,” including, “There was nothing more to be done.”
Another driver, Fayzullo Nematov, stated he was determined to get the cash he’s owed so he may ship it to assist his spouse, kids and aged mom again dwelling in Uzbekistan.
“I’m the only one who is earning,” he stated.
Across Europe
The drivers work for a number of Polish trucking corporations owned by the Mazur Group.
But in a press release, the group insisted that every one salaries have been paid “in a timely manner” and so they had undergone a latest inspection which discovered no irregularities in funds.
The agency additionally sought to distance itself from the problem of charges paid to acquire visas or work suggestions, insisting the drivers needed to take this up with “intermediary” corporations whose providers they’d was recruited.
And they pushed again on the suggestion of forcing drivers to work lengthy hours, saying they “cannot dictate to drivers the hours of daily work or the limit on days off,” including this was the truckers’ selection.
The drivers transport a spread of products for main European corporations, working in international locations together with Germany, France, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
While they obtain common small allowances for meals, the truckers stated they will go for months with out receiving their salaries, and when it does come, it’s normally decrease than what they need to be.
They are demanding 500,000 euros ($530,000) in what they are saying are unpaid wages.
They selected to stage their strike in Germany, somewhat than Poland, as they really feel safer taking motion there, stated Edwin Atema, head of Road Transport Due Diligence Foundation, which displays and addresses violations of labor requirements in Europe.
They additionally staged a profitable work stoppage in the identical place earlier this yr, albeit for a shorter interval.
‘Totally exploited’
Such an motion is “unprecedented” within the European trucking trade, Atema stated.
“For the drivers, this is mentally and physically so tough. (They) came here because they are totally exploited, they did not get their money, they have problems at home, cannot feed their kids.”
It highlights the convoluted provide chains that transport items quickly round prosperous European markets which, critics say, depart these really doing the work weak.
By hiding behind different corporations who transport their items, well-known corporations “try to deny responsibility for this,” stated Atema, additionally a Dutch union official.
“The root cause is always that this issue has no priority,” he stated. “As long as the goods are moved, nobody cares how drivers are exploited.”
The drivers and corporations have leveled complaints towards one another, and prosecutors confirmed they’re trying into allegations from each side.
But the drivers insist they’re on the receiving finish of the unhealthy remedy – and their message is obvious.
“Pay us our money, we need to send it to our families,” stated driver Nematov.
Source: www.dailysabah.com