Denmark introduces a minimum wage for foreign truckers. This is how the government wants to fight letterbox companies.

The government and a large majority in the Folketing (Danish Parliament) agreed on Wednesday that all drivers who carry out freight or passenger transport in Denmark must be paid a salary equivalent to that of the national road transport industry. This also applies to foreign drivers who carry out cabotage on Danish territory, says the Danish Ministry of Employment.

In addition, foreign carriers will have to be entered in a special register once the new rules enter into force. This will enable the Danish services to check drivers’ salaries more effectively.  So far, however, there is no information on the date of implementation of the new regulations. We will keep you posted. 

Failure to register a cabotage operation by a foreign carrier will result in a fine of DKK 10,000. If it is found during the check that the driver does not receive an adequate wage for cabotage in Denmark, the penalty will be much higher, at least DKK 35,000. 

The sanctions for Danish carriers will remain unchanged, informs the Ministry. 

The agreement reached this Wednesday is based on the recommendations jointly proposed by the Danish Employers’ Association (DA) and the Federation of Trade Unions (FH). It is intended to prevent so-called social dumping in the transport industry. It is about fighting against letterbox companies, which establish their headquarters in Eastern European countries only to reduce the costs of operations conducted de facto in Denmark.

The parties are to assess the effects of the legislation two years after its entry into force.

Beskæftigelsesminister Peter Hummelgaard præsenterede med bredt flertal i ryggen her til formiddag en ny aftale, der skal sætte yderligere ind overfor social dumping på landevejen. #dkpol @PHummelgaard pic.twitter.com/qNoG5t3oc5

— Beskæftigelsesministeriet (@Beskaeft_Min) January 15, 2020