Low pay, fuel fines, cramped cabs: drivers at haulier used by major retailers speak out

theguardian.com:

D rivers for one of Europe’s biggest delivery firms, which works for Amazon, Ikea and DHL, claim they are being left with no option but to sleep in their trucks for months and are earning well below the minimum wage in most of the countries they visit, according to an Observer investigation.

In a series of interviews conducted in Belgium in March, drivers at the Lithuanian haulier Girteka, which says it employs 19,000 people across Europe, said they had spent weeks at a time sleeping in cramped cabs, often sharing a bunk with a co-driver.

They claimed the company did not adequately cover the cost of access to toilets and showers at rest stops, or to parking spots unless they were carrying a particularly valuable load. Drivers also said they had experienced fines for high use of diesel, including when fuel had been stolen or when they had been running the engine to heat their cabs during cold nights on the road.

One driver has described how he collapsed with kidney failure and heart problems on Christmas Eve in 2020, after having spent the pandemic year on the road and sleeping in his cab. Instead of arranging transport to bring him home, Yurii Kryvonos claims he was left to co-drive his truck for three days, with a trainee, on an 800-mile journey from the Czech Republic to his accommodation in Lithuania.

After being informed of the allegations, Ikea launched an investigation, saying it would “take any necessary actions” after assessing the situation. “It is essential that all workers transporting and handling Ikea goods have good and fair working conditions,” the retailer said in a statement. Ikea said it had last audited Girteka in 2021. There is no suggestion that Kryvonos was working for Ikea.

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