The protests, strike and allegations of unpaid drivers all concern the company Agmaz, whose base is located in Pobednik Maly near Krakow.
The company’s website shows the haulier has been in business since 2007 and currently boasts a fleet of 900 trucks. It is reported that the company employs many lorry drivers from 3rd countries such as Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Georgia.
As reported by our colleagues at trans.iNFO’s Eastern European service, just before last weekend, around 30 drivers driving trucks for Agmaz and Luk Maz protested at a rest stop on Italy’s A22 motorway.
The protests have since expanded, with images and videos shared online showing more drivers on strike in a parking area in the Gräfenhausen area in Germany.
Auf der Raststätte #Gräfenhausen warten weiterhin über 50 uzbekische und georgische Fahrer darauf, ihren Lohn zu erhalten. Der Firmenbesitzer ist inzwischen nicht mehr persönlich auf der Raststätte und kommuniziert über seinen Anwalt. pic.twitter.com/vNNtqlsFIg
— Faire Mobilität (@FaireMobilitaet) April 1, 2023
German organisation Faire Mobilität (Fair Mobility), which lobbies for fair conditions for drivers in the road transport sector, claims 55 Amgaz trucks were parked up in Gräfenhausen on Friday.
Faire Mobilität’s Facebook post also shows the protesting truckers watching a Georgian news report covering their plight, as well as drivers flying the flags of their countries from their cabs (namely Georgia and Uzbekistan).
Other images shared by the Facebook Page ‘Pro Fahrer-Image’ show how unions and other non-profit organisations helped to lay on food and essential supplies for the stranded lorry drivers.
Inzwischen stehen 55 Lkws in #Gräfenhausen. Nach wie vor keine Löhne. Die Polizei hat einen offiziellen Versammlungsraum abgesperrt. @_verdi-Kraftfahrerkreise waren heute vor Ort. Die #Betriebsseelsorge und der @dgb_news versorgen die Kollegen mit Lebensmitteln.@FNV pic.twitter.com/XORYkjbO4t
— Faire Mobilität (@FaireMobilitaet) March 31, 2023
On Saturday, Faire Mobilität said that 50 Amgaz trucks remained on site, and added that the company’s owner was “communicating through his lawyer”. The organisation also wrote that Amgaz boss Lukasz Mazur “disputes the claims of the drivers, but refuses to present billing documents on the basis of which this could be objectively determined.” Moreover, comments made online by a Dutch trade union representative suggest that Amgaz believes the payments and deductions it makes to its drivers are legal.
German news website fr.de writes that the drivers are often employed on junk, zero-hours style contracts that are ripe for exploitation. The online newspaper also reported that Mr Mazur even arrived at the scene of the protest to deny the allegations made against him, while a minibus was ordered to bring in replacement drivers and keep the haulier’s trucks on the road.
On top of this, Faire Mobilität says it spoke to a Belarusian driver who claimed Amgaz had him break drivers’ hours rules. According to the driver, he was doing up to 20 hours a day and was on the brink of drifting off as a consequence.
Further allegations were also made by Edwin Atema of the Dutch trade union FNV. Writing on Facebook, Atema shared a photo of Amgaz owner Lukasz Mazur posing with a Lamborghini bearing a custom number plate with his company’s name.
Posted by Edwin Atema on Saturday, 1 April 2023
In the same post, Atema dubbed Mr Mazur as “Mr Rolex-Lamborghini” before writing the following:
“This story does not only make it clear who paid for the Rolex and Lamborghini, but also shows what needs to be done to clean up the industry. The money spend on transport must not be used to buy a Lamborghini: it must be spent to pay the hard-working drivers who keep Europe moving,” said Edwin Atema.
Polish-speaking staff at trans.iNFO have reached out to Amgaz for comment, but as yet we have received no comment responding to the allegations of the drivers.