According to Belgian news website hbvl.be, the story concerns a Romanian lorry driver who worked for Genk-based H.Essers for a 4 year period just over a decade ago.
It is said that the trucker, named as Stefan Popescu, was paid the Romanian minimum wage of roughly €200 per month – despite the fact he was predominantly transporting goods in Belgium and Germany.
The report states that Popescu first began working for the Romanian branch of H.Essers back in 2011, and was promptly sent to Belgium for a two-week, paid internship. He was then taken on by the company and ended up working for them for 4 years, mostly transporting goods overnight between Belgium and Germany.
Although he was predominantly working in those two countries, Popescu said he continued to receive a minimum Romanian monthly wage of around €200, plus €40 (later raised to €45) per day to cover expenses.
Popescu told hbvl.be of how he was also awarded extra hours and responsibilities at H.Essers having developed a reputation for good professionalism. Among other things, he would do walkaround inspections on other drivers’ vehicles and check that the cabins were in decent condition. On top of this, he said he was even occasionally used as a private driver for the company’s President and his family.
While all of this was going on, Popescu used what was available from his earnings to support his family, including 5 children. He also worked hard to study law, and claims that H.Essers had promised to offer him a proper Belgian contract after his graduation.
However, the offer was not forthcoming, and the trucker was sent back to his home country to drive for H.Essers’ branch over there. Then, following an eye-opening conversation with a colleague about pensions, Popescu said he took it upon himself to get what he believed he was due from H.Essers for his work in Belgium.
The Romanian lorry driver took the matter to court in his home country, where it was ruled his labour dispute was a Belgian matter. Although the labour agreement was Romanian, the work was conducted in Belgium, and thus the court decided that Belgian social legislation should apply.
That saw the trucker take the matter to the Labour Court in Antwerp, where it was ruled that he was entitled to years of the Belgian minimum wage in arrears as well as the associated social rights.
The full sum of what is owed to Popescu will be known early next year. However, the lorry driver and law graduate is owed €200,000 according to his own legal representative.
“My client is the only one who has had the courage to litigate for seven years while supporting a family as a trucker. This is truly a David versus Goliath story that could set a precedent for anyone in the transportation industry in a similar situation. H.Essers owes my client more than 200,000 euros and there are many others like him,” Jan Buelens, Popescu’s lawyer, told hbvl.be.
Popescu also spoke after the case, and although he stated his satisfaction with the verdict, he also declared his frustration over the complexity and length of the legal battle. The driver was quoted as saying that he was able to win thanks to support from both his lawyer and unions, but that few other truckers will have the same resources to win a similar legal dispute.
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Photo: Acepilot1, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
As for H.Essers, they were asked to provide their response to the story by hbvl.be. The road transport firm issued a lengthy 5-point statement that emphasised that the matter had happened over a decade ago, and that it had changed its employment practices well in advance of the EU Mobility Package posted worker regulations entering into force.
In addition, H. Essers said that Mr. Popescu “had a kind of intermediary function between Belgian and Romanian drivers, so the case is not at all representative of other drivers”. The company also touched on the complexity of the case, referring to its length and many verdicts.
Finally, the Genk-based haulage firm claimed it attaches “the utmost importance to respecting all relevant regulations and to correct and respectful working conditions” for all of its staff.
“We regret that Mr. Popescu felt unfairly treated 10 years ago, because the well-being of our employees is our number one priority,” concluded H. Essers’ statement to the media.
Photo: User:Zwiadowca21/templaet, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image cropped)