The agreement was signed last week by Zenon Buivydas, the general secretary of Linava, and Sandjar Pulatov, the President of Uzbekistan Transport Association. Makhkamov Ilhomas Rustamovic, Uzbekistan’s transport minister, also signed agreement according to Linava’s press release.
“We are looking into ways that Uzbek citizens who want to work in Lithuania [as truck drivers] can do so as soon as possible and no longer need to attend special training programs when they arrive in our country,” Buivydas is quoted as saying.
Buivydas says truckers from Uzbekistan could acquire the necessary qualifications in their own country, and upon arrival in Lithuania, “all that would be left to complete would be the employment formalities, accommodation, and the opening of a bank account for wages before work can start.”
Moreover, the agreement will see both parties speed up digitisation in the transport sector, including connections to international IT platforms.
Linava estimates that Lithuania’s driver shortage is currently around 30,000; the organisation also claims that the effects of the EU Mobility Package will see that number double.
The news follows a decision by the Lithuanian government to grant the haulage sector more work permits for 3rd-country drivers in 2022.
Linava had long complained about the fact the quota of fast-tracked permits for 2021 had already run out in the first half of the year. Indeed, there were even reports of some hauliers from the country setting up entities in Latvia and Poland in order to take advantage of easier 3rd-country staff recruitment.
One Lithuanian haulage firm, cargoGo, has already set its 3rd-country recruitment plan in motion having recently organised a trip to India to find drivers there. The company also says it has plans to recruit more drivers from Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Commenting on cargoGo’s plans last month, Lithuania’s Trade Union of Carriers expressed concern about what kind of money the Asian drivers would be earning. The organisation’s Facebook page posted: “Drivers from India will soon be behind the wheel of our trucks. Recall that the minimum monthly salary in India is €48. I wonder what salary is promised to them?”
More recently, the trade union offered its thoughts on last week’s police action at Zeebrugge Port, which saw 11 Lithuanian trucks seized over suspicions of “human trafficking and economic exploitation”.
Writing on its Facebook Page on Friday, the union praised the Belgian authorities for taking action, and accused the Lithuanian Government of doing nothing to stop the exploitation of 3rd country drivers:
“Some representatives of the Lithuanian transport sector are not only making a mockery of our government, but also cheating elsewhere. While our institutions are blind, others are working.”
Finally, just days ago, Lithuanian road transport firms Girteka Logistics and RV Transport were accused by a trade union newspaper of illegally underpaying lorry drivers doing cabotage work for Postnord in Norway. Many of the truckers who admitted to being underpaid came from 3rd countries.