Since July this year, nine foreign drivers have been battling with their employer for three months of unpaid wages. The case was brought before the Labour Court in Chalon-sur-Saône.
One of the drivers, a Lithuanian, received his outstanding wages after a hearing in early August. However, on 28 August, a judgment was handed down for the remaining eight drivers, requiring the company to pay them their salaries for three months of work, according to the French newspaper Le Journal de Saône-et-Loire. Hegelmann France now has 15 days to appeal.
The drivers, who are from Lithuania, Moldova, and Ukraine, have been on strike since July because their employer has not paid them since May. Since mid-July, these drivers, deprived of their salaries, have been living at the company’s headquarters in Châtenoy-le-Royal, according to local news portal info-chalon.fr.
In mid-August, a support committee for the Hegelmann workers was established to provide them with financial and moral assistance. The drivers have also received support from Olivier Tainturier, sub-prefect of the Chalon-sur-Saône district, Vincent Bergeret, deputy mayor of Châtenoy-le-Royal, and the local director of economy, employment, labour, and solidarity (DREETS).
17 weeks on the road
This is not the first time that Hegelmann has been involved in an employment-related controversy. At the end of 2021, another shocking story involving a well-known operator came to light. This time it involved the company’s Polish branch. During a routine police check in Battice, Belgium, it was discovered that a Ukrainian lorry driver had spent up to 17 weeks in motorway car parks and had not been paid for several months. The lorry driver received €45 every few weeks, which he had to spend on food.