A Polish haulier tried to use force to end a drivers’ strike on Good Friday. To do this, he apparently commissioned a prominent and shady detective in Poland to send his private patrol onto the A5 to Hesse.
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Escalation to the Gräfenhausen service area
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After the large-scale police operation at the Gräfenhausen motorway service area in connection with a strike action by truck drivers, the situation has since calmed down again. The police announced on Saturday.
The arrested Polish forwarding company owner and 18 of his security staff, who wanted to take action against the striking drivers at the service area on the A5 near Weiterstadt (Darmstadt-Dieburg) on Friday and were stopped by the police, are now free again, as a police spokesman said .
According to the public prosecutor’s office in Darmstadt, the investigations are ongoing. The public prosecutor’s office is currently not in contact with the Polish authorities because there is no need for this at the moment, a spokesman told hr on Saturday.
Thugs want to intimidate truck drivers
The situation escalated on Good Friday. At around 11:00 a.m., violent arguments broke out when the Polish company owner, accompanied by several people, tried to gain access to the parked trucks. The delegation was more like a paramilitary unit than a delegation from a trucking company.
Their goal: to intimidate the 50 or so truck drivers who have been on strike at the service area for days. The men went on strike because they apparently haven’t seen any money from the major Polish trucking company they drive for for more than 50 days.
Police were on site in large numbers
Some of the men drove up to the service area with tank-like vehicles, some even wore supposedly bulletproof vests. Apparently they had the order to steal the trucks by force if necessary. Stefan Körzell, board member of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), speaks on Twitter of a “thugs from Poland” who tried to “steal” the drivers’ trucks.
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The police were on site with a large contingent and dogs to prevent the impending escalation. Those involved in the crime are now being investigated for, among other things, serious breaches of the peace, threats, coercion, attempted dangerous bodily harm and disruption of a meeting.
Militia of a prominent private detective
On the Polish troops’ heavy black vehicle is the name of the “Detective Agency Rutkowski”, a kind of private police force owned by the Polish businessman and ex-EU MP Krzysztof Rutkowski. In Poland, Rutkowski is a well-known figure, he has always been a talking point because, as a self-proclaimed detective, he sent his people on private missions – he documented the whole thing in part in his own television series.
Rutkowski also sent his “Patrol Rutkowski” abroad in the past. On a Facebook picture he can be seen with the same vehicle that his people used at the service area in Gräfenhausen. Labeling and identification are identical.
“Telewizja Patriot 24”, which is said to belong at least in part to Rutkowski and regularly films him, documented the action against the truck drivers at the rest area on Good Friday.
DGB board demands consequences
Trade unionist Körzell, who witnessed the incident on site, thanked the police for the quick intervention. The groups were separated from each other with barrier tape.
According to Körzell, the owner not only brought the security people with him, but also substitute drivers in three small buses. They had said that they had been taken out of their own trucks at other rest areas during the night and taken to Gräfenhausen.
“The fact that the owner of the forwarding agency sends a paramilitary gang including an armored vehicle to Germany to end a protest by truck drivers with a martial threat is an outrageous occurrence,” said Körzell. That must have consequences. Among other things, it must be checked whether their appearance and uniform make them a criminal offence. The DGB also said that deportation and the imposition of an entry ban to Germany should be considered, since the men posed a serious threat to public safety and order.
protest against working conditions
The fact that the trucking company has apparently not paid the drivers for weeks is just one of the reasons for the ongoing protest. The men, who mostly come from Uzbekistan, Georgia and other Eastern European countries, want to enforce their demand for fair pay and decent working conditions. There are also strikes in South Tyrol, Italy and the Netherlands.
“These are not normal working conditions that we have,” said one of the strikers. Another complained: “Actually, I have three jobs. Not only do I sit behind the wheel, I also have to do the loading and unloading and I am responsible for safety.” Nevertheless, he has been waiting for his wages for weeks. In some cases, drivers would have repairs deducted from their wages, the money they get for food was not enough.
The truckers are not alone: trade unionists and associations from the area have donated food and drinks, Verdi flags are hanging on truck tarpaulins as a sign of solidarity. Advisors from the “Fair Mobility” network were on site and also drew attention to the drivers’ protests on social networks.
“Unfortunately, what we are experiencing here is a bit of the sad reality in freight transport in Europe,” said the Hessian chairman of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), Michael Rudolph, who also visited the strikers. The legal situation is actually clear: “The wages of the country in which the vehicle is driven apply.” Unfortunately, the reality is different, according to Rudolph. There are many employers who “send drivers through Europe for much less money”. These people would not only work under the most precarious conditions, but also live.
call for better controls
Instead of being on the road for a maximum of two weeks at a time, they are actually often on the trunk roads in Europe for weeks and months and then only sleep in their cars, which is illegal. In addition, according to their contracts, the drivers are probably bogus self-employed.
The applicable rules must also be observed and better controlled, according to Rudolph. The Hessian DGB boss also advocates further demands: “We want the tariff of the country in which it is unloaded.” And he emphasizes something else: “We need clear rules so that violations of the minimum wage law in Germany can also be enforced and enforced against employers in Poland.”
The SPD and the left show solidarity
Günther Rudolph, SPD parliamentary group leader in the state parliament, sees it similarly: “We urgently need more controls and compliance with applicable law, but this requires more staff,” he said on Friday, according to a statement. “Unfortunately, we can see from the example of the Gräfenhausen service area on the A5 that exploitation in long-distance traffic is still the order of the day in Germany, too.” The rule of law should not tolerate the behavior of the freight forwarder at the rest area.
The Hessian left also commented on the events. “We stand in solidarity with the striking truck drivers in Gräfenhausen,” said state chairwoman Christiane Böhm. When employers want to violently resolve industrial disputes by supposedly right-wing forces, it’s a scandal reminiscent of the “darkest moments in German history.” According to Böhm, on-site observers found the men from Poland wearing relevant right-wing scene clothing and tattoos.
It is unclear how things will continue in Gräfenhausen. The strikers still do not want to go back to work and are staying at the service area for the time being.
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