Truckers play pivotal roles around the world, and Polish drivers have drawn a line in the sand over an EU deal they say prioritizes Ukraine freight transportation.
Commercial motor vehicle operators are reportedly blocking at least three international truck crossings until Warsaw and the EU put limits back on Ukraine truckloads that give them an unfair advantage. The shutdown of commercial traffic seems shocking, given the war waging between Russia and Ukraine. But it comes on the heels of a ban on imported Ukrainian grain that undercut Polish farmers.
“We’re going to do it the way farmers did. Keep protesting until the government acknowledges there is a problem and does something about it,” Jacek Sokół, the owner of a small trucking company, reportedly said.
According to reports, Polish truck transportation outfits have experienced a massive border crossing disparity in 2023. Prior to the war, Ukrainian truckers hauled goods and materials into Poland 180,000 times. That number has skyrocketed to 900,000 loads. While the ban on overly cheap Ukrainian grain to protect farmers was driven by the Polish government, politicians have not backed truckers. Both Polish and EU bureaucrats are pressuring truckers to end the protest.
“We call on the Polish protesters to stop the blockade of the border and choose other forms of defending their rights that would not impede movement across the border,” Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Zharych reportedly stated. “Such methods only play into the hands of our common enemy, the Russian terrorists, and harm the interests of not only Ukraine but also Poland and the whole of Europe.”
In its efforts to support ailing Ukrainians, the EU brokered a deal to give freight carriers a critical economic advantage. It established a priority cargo carriage lane between Ukraine and Moldova that left Polish truckers at a cost disadvantage. In Poland, political leaders have deferred responsibility to the EU. But truckers and industry leaders appear to be holding their feet to the fire, saying government officials cannot “wash its hands off it and say that it’s the EU calling the shots.”
“I have a small company. I’ve had to reduce my fleet by 40 percent to just eight trucks this year because the Ukrainians do cabotage so much cheaper,” Sokół reportedly said.
American truckers face their own challenges on issues such as safe truck parking and an inability to receive overtime pay. Although the issue of fair and equitable wages has been bandied about in the nation’s capital, truckers have been banned from time-and-a-half since 1938.
Sources:
https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-poland-russia-war-eu-truckers-block-border-crossings/
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A22023D0604
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