Trapped truckers can’t return to Lithuania: they’re talking about low wages and exploitation

Audrius Cuzanauskas, head of the Lithuanian Trade Union Alliance, provided information on the problems of UAB Baltic Transline, UAB Balline transline transport and UAB Transdepas drivers. These companies belong to the BTL Group transport and logistics group, and their manager is Mindaugas Veselis. The three companies have around 1,300 employees.

The State Labor Inspectorate (VDI) received 14 requests for labor disputes related to these three companies this year, compared to 7 last year.

UAB Baltic transline: 2019 1 request for unfair dismissal was received. According to the VDI, the plaintiff withdrew his claim before the hearing. There have been no requests for labor disputes this year.

UAB Transline Baltic transport: This year, 7 applications were received, and last year – 5, and applications for the examination of labor disputes for non-payment were received. In most cases, the Labor Disputes Commission terminated the procedure after the plaintiffs withdrew their claims.

UAB transdepas: This year, 7 requests were received to deal with labor disputes for viaticals, illegal dismissals and wages. Of the 7 requests received, one was reviewed, the others are still being processed. 2019 1 request for illegal dismissal and non-payment of daily subsistence allowance was received, the claims were partially satisfied.

Drivers cannot return home for half a year

A. Cuzanauskas says he receives dozens of calls from drivers every day with a request to help return to Lithuania. These people, who have worked abroad for 5-7 months, are unable to return home because the managers are allegedly opposed.

“Employees agreed to work abroad for two months and then take a month off. Drunk drivers in Europe are begging managers to come back because they feel tired. Companies tell them there is no way to change them, as the Slaves have to work for half a year, but is this a problem for drivers? ”says A. Cuzanauskas.

Drivers are forced to take drastic steps to return home to the police. A. Cuzanauskas says that a Baltic driver, who worked abroad for 5 months, asked the local police in Belgium for help.

“A driver was unable to return home while in Belgium, and the country’s police arrested a loaded Baltic van throughout the day. The next day, when the police came to explain, Delphi) paid 4 thousand in a few hours. Eur and made it possible for the driver to come home, everything was fine.

They paid only because the police said, “One person has worked for five months, paying as much as it is not the minimum.” They admitted that it was exploitation at work, victim of human trafficking. What do you have to do to get an employee to help you, go to the police to help you escape? ”Says the interviewer.

Donatas Nickus, Logistics Manager at Baltic Transline, assures that he has no information on this case. It is only after receiving more information about this particular case that the circumstances under which the driver was unable to return to Lithuania should be evaluated.

Commenting on the overall situation, why company employees were unable to return home, he notes that quarantine in Europe and closed state borders disrupted driver travel as drivers travel by passenger to work on routes. European and return to their home in Lithuania.

“Most of the drivers we employ are abroad for up to 10-12 weeks. Restrictions on the quarantine period and visa centers that do not operate in foreign countries have made it difficult for drivers to change routes. Drivers are not always They have been able to return to their homes due to restrictions on the movement of public and private transportation between states.

Another factor was the Lithuanian visa centers, which resumed work in individual countries much later than, for example, Poland. For the time being, work has resumed, so we will soon be able to return to standard working hours, ”says D. Nickus.

Employees do not earn minimum

Another problem facing Baltic airline employees is lower wages, as A. Cuzanauskas said, under the guise of a pandemic in Europe. Since April, all drivers have been verbally informed about the pay cut.

In general, the minimum wage for long distance drivers is approximately 725 euros “on hand”. According to them, they are currently paid 406 or 477 euros per month for working abroad, at the same time that they supposedly do not receive a daily allowance.

“Through the internal system, all employees were informed about the reduction in wages due to the global economic crisis. However, shipments have not decreased, they are only increasing, as working hours have increased in some places for ensuring the transportation of essential goods, but these companies thought it was a great opportunity to cut back.

We speak to the Belgian, Dutch, German, Norwegian unions, they say the same thing: nothing has happened, everything is happening as before. For those traveling to high-risk countries (Spain, Italy), transport prices have increased several times, so they only travel, because many have started to refuse, “says the head of the Lithuanian Trade Union Alliance.

D. Nickus, Head of Logistics at Baltic Transline, points out that the quarantine in Europe has caused extremely high fluctuations in the transport market, forcing the company to reduce daily driver assignments. However, the representative assured that the basic salary for drivers had not decreased.

“There were ten free cars on the market for three loads, we had to fight for each load, and transportation prices fell, the number of free ’empty’ kilometers increased. Companies have chosen different ways of dealing with the crisis. Our priority it was to preserve jobs and we did not fire drivers, but the daily allowance received by drivers was reduced to the legal limit. At that time, the basic salary of drivers enshrined in employment contracts did not decrease, “says D. Nickus.

The logistics manager says he is noticing the first signs of a market recovery, so the company has begun restoring the per diem level it had before COVID-19.

“In June, we already restored some of the reduced daily allowance. Starting in July, we plan to fully restore the amount of daily allowance before quarantine. So far, the company is doing this in part with its reserves, as past demand transport has not yet been reached, “says the interlocutor.

To get a salary he received an offer to resign

Driver representative A. Cuzanauskas also shared a recording of a phone conversation in which a company representative was speaking to several foreign drivers. When they returned to Lithuania, they demanded that their employer pay their full salary. During the month, one of the drivers earned just 477 euros instead of 1,200 euros. To receive full payment, the driver was instructed to write a layoff request. According to A. Cuzanauskas, the employer speaking on the audio recording is D. Nickus, logistics manager for Balline Transline.

Commenting on the content of the post, Nickus notes that the drivers themselves informed the employer of their desire to quit the job. However, in the post, the driver was asked multiple times if he wanted to continue working for the company, assuring him that he had never said that he did not want to work here.

“Drivers always receive the basic salary provided for in the employment contract on the day specified therein and this cannot depend on any circumstance. The registry discusses the payment of daily allowances after drivers finished their work on the route earlier by On their own initiative, they were transported to Lithuania and announced their wish to terminate their employment.

Drivers always receive the full compensation they earn, both the main part and the daily allowance. As a rule, drivers returning from work must submit documents to the office and return the assigned work equipment to the company. This is exactly the situation discussed in the publication ”, comments the logistics manager.

Employees are “driven” by unpaid leave

Furthermore, A. Cuzanauskas also mentions that the employees of companies in Lithuania are “motivated” by an unpaid leave. Drivers who have returned to Lithuania allegedly receive a pre-completed form with a request to “grant unpaid leave due to marital status”.

“When you go on vacation without pay, there is no period of service for that period, you do not have insurance, you do not receive benefits. During the three-year period, the employee loses one year of service, the same amount does not have insurance and the patient does not have the opportunity to receive disability benefits, being at home still does not receive any income.

There are 79 thousand in this sector. Drivers, everyone goes on vacation without pay and, at the same time, Lithuania loses half a billion in premiums due to the fact that companies make life easier, “explains A. Cuzanauskas.

D. Nickus ensures that drivers use the unpaid leave in accordance with the same procedure established by the Labor Code as all employees of the company or Lithuania.

“Drivers who work in the transportation market go abroad for 8 to 12 weeks, so it is only natural that when they return from a vacation trip, they will go for a longer period of time.” For this purpose, both paid vacations (20 business days per year) and unpaid vacations are used, ”he points out.

Drivers pay for the hotel every month

The driver’s representative says that the company’s employees have to pay a monthly subscription fee for the “reSTART” hotel, which belongs to the BTL Group, regardless of whether the driver has stayed there or not. Not only that, five or six drivers in a room live here in quarantined conditions.

“Every month they constantly pay the hotel, they deduct it from the salary.” Agree or not, no one asks. Drivers cannot find a cheaper place to sleep. It is an obvious example of modern slavery, ”says A. Cuzanauskas.

According to the company representative, Baltic Transline has established a hotel so that company drivers can enjoy the benefits of comfortable accommodation. However, it notes that drivers are free to choose their place of residence and are not required to remain on “reset.”

“We offer our employees spacious and modern apartment accommodation with all the necessary equipment for a comfortable life and additional services: storage, laundry, parking and more. The largest rooms here are quadruple, but most have 2-3 beds. By accommodating drivers, all measures are observed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, ”says D. Nickus.

VDI: 76,896 euros were awarded to employees during quarantine

The Labor Disputes Commission (DGC) received 211 requests during the quarantine to deal with labor disputes related to companies in the transport sector. This is 15.6 percent. of all requests received during that period. Compared to the same period in 2019, the number of requests increased by approximately 12 percent. However, as the SLI points out, the upward trend is observed in all sectors of economic activity.

During the quarantine period, the DGK examined 106 claims from the road transport sector, in which 186 claims were made, most of them with payment (139). Other requests are still pending.

During the quarantine, DGK awarded 76,896 euros to employees in the transport sector. and. about 23 percent. More than last year.

During the first quarter of this year, the SLI carried out 141 inspections in companies in the transport and storage sector. The greatest number of infractions was found in terms of remuneration, accounting of working time, employment and employment contracts, as well as in terms of occupational risk assessment and training of employees on occupational safety and health.