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Translated to English with Deepl.com
A Berlin truck driver reports
from the Netherlands ...
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I have been working as an international truck driver for Van den Bosch for 15 years now. I am employed by the German Van den Bosch Transporte GmbH, which is 100 percent owned by the Dutch shareholder. All vehicle and deployment planning is done from there.
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In several European countries, the transport industry often means exploitation and wage theft for foreign drivers. No government or trade union and hardly any authority seems to mind much.
Violations of working time laws and occupational safety rules are often standard practice. Unfortunately, today's Netherlands is no exception. In my case there is also discrimination against a severely disabled person.
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Laws and official regulations exist in large numbers. But it is of little use if such standards are not enforced and controlled locally. Some companies even go to great lengths to ensure that drivers do not even find out about laws that are advantageous to them.
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I myself have been severely disabled for years. In the GDR I worked as a miner for some time. That left its mark.
My health impairment is known both to the superiors of the German GmbH and to those in the Dutch parent company in Erp. I have created a special website for them.
In rare cases they take my health into consideration. Very rarely.
If, through one or the other management level, drivers are only seen as lawless servants, one should of course not accept this as a person affected. Life is too short for lousy jobs. By the way, the much lamented shortage of drivers is no accident.
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Descriptions of the sometimes adventurous conditions in this industry, which often touch on the area of criminal law, will be given confidentially to the competent national and international authorities on request.
In this case, please write to my address at the bottom of this page.
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Following screenshots of my on-board computer in the truck: communication between the planning in Erp and me as driver. Clicking enlarges the pictures in a new window.
In the first eight weeks alone since the beginning of the year, there were five days of deliberate violations of occupational safety and discrimination against severely disabled workers.
And that's just me - hundreds of drivers are on the road every day for Van den Bosch.
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9 January 2023, Job: Loading, chemical
plant Inovyn Rheinberg, Germany
plant Inovyn Rheinberg, Germany
Markus (Peters) is the Managing Director
of the German branch:
Van den Bosch Transporte GmbH in
Kranenburg near Kleve.
In the meantime, the OK for loading came
from Inovyn.
The following is the written communication
with Markus Peters via WhatsApp. Only
the spoken or verbally given word is - in my
experience over many years - is occasionally
not worth very much.
I therefore avoid corresponding telephone
calls without the presence of witnesses.
Finally, the silo container was loaded by
Inovyn's factory personnel and loaded by
me hours later in a Rotterdam container
terminal.
12 January, 13 January, 19 January 2023,
Order: Silo cleaning in Moerdijk and
Bergen op Zoom.
As is almost always the case, these orders
were without prior clarification on the part
of the planning who opens and closes the
above container lids if the driver cannot
without endangering himself.
Order: Silo cleaning in Moerdijk and
Bergen op Zoom.
As is almost always the case, these orders
were without prior clarification on the part
of the planning who opens and closes the
above container lids if the driver cannot
without endangering himself.
In Bergen op Zoom in the industrial area,
I asked drivers from other companies to open
and and closing the container lids for me.
For situations like this, I have always given
a few packs of cigarettes and cans with energy
drinks. Out of my own pocket.
company Simons in Geel, Belgium
In contrast to the Inovyn chemical plant in
Rheinberg, I was able to take photos in Geel.
The fact that you ideally need acrobatic
skills for climbing such containers is obvious.
I demonstrably do not have them.
Not only for me the urgent question arises
whether one is all fully incured in case of
occupational accidents when working on such
unsafe containers? What do state authorities
and insurers say about this?
As long the companys balance sheet is in
order, the protection of employes health or
lives is obviously secondary.
Rheinberg, I was able to take photos in Geel.
The fact that you ideally need acrobatic
skills for climbing such containers is obvious.
I demonstrably do not have them.
Not only for me the urgent question arises
whether one is all fully incured in case of
occupational accidents when working on such
unsafe containers? What do state authorities
and insurers say about this?
As long the companys balance sheet is in
order, the protection of employes health or
lives is obviously secondary.
---
I communicated via the on-board computer with planners - i.e. employees with rather limited competences. But the problem lies somewhere else. As we all know, the fish always stinks from the head ...
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Dear Dutch people, I think you are a clever people. And I assume that in your beautiful and friendly country modern slavery will also be history in the foreseeable future. As historical slavery has been for 160 years.
All the best for you!
---
Henry
Bleckert - Lily-Braun-Strasse 17 - 12619 Berlin - Deutschland
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