Polish carriers protest on the border with Ukraine. The queue of vehicles reaches beyond Chełm
On the third day of the Polish carriers’ protest, the line of trucks from the Ukrainian border had already reached the height of Chełm. Industry representatives claim that without decisive action, as many as 80 percent Polish companies may go bankrupt.
On Monday, November 6 at At 12:00, the protest of carriers began, blocking the exit from Poland through the crossings in Korczowa, Hrebenne and Dorohusk. The first announcements indicated that the action would last at least two weeks.
Protest on the border with Ukraine
– The protest will be continuous, meaning we will stand here for 24 hours. We will block transport traffic, of course – with the exception of humanitarian aid and aid for the Ukrainian army. We will allow one car to pass per hour – said Tomasz Borkowski from the Committee for the Defense of Carriers and Transport Employers in an interview with tvn24.pl.
The protest is intended to lead to the restoration of regulations that were in force before Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine. As reported by the mentioned source, before the start of the war, Ukrainian trucks could enter Poland on the basis of a special permit, and after February 24, 2022, this regulation was abolished.
At the same time, it was established that companies from across the eastern border cannot transport goods between EU countries. According to Polish carriers, this issue is not adequately controlled. – Most of these cars arrive empty, they collect loads from Poland and take them all over Europe. They simply take our work, explained Bartosz Jasiński, the owner of a transport company, whose words were quoted by the tvn24.pl portal.
Third day of the carriers’ protest
On the third day of the Polish carriers’ protest, the line of trucks from the Ukrainian border had already reached the height of Chełm. Industry representatives claim that without decisive action, as many as 80 percent Polish companies may go bankrupt. Only military transports, fuel, perishable food and humanitarian aid can pass through the blockade. In other cases, protesters allow only three cars per hour to pass in both directions.
There are already several hundred trucks standing in front of the Polish-Ukrainian border from our side: 900 before the crossing in Hrebenne and 650 before Dorohusk. As an RMF FM reporter reported on Wednesday, November 8, one group of trucks starts before Chełm, from the direction of Lublin. The police, trying to control the situation, do not allow cars to enter the city. Most of them are vehicles with Ukrainian license plates, which will have to wait a few days for customs clearance.
Trade unionists feel ignored by the government
In conversations with journalists, carriers emphasized that they felt ignored by the current government. So far, no one has talked to them. However, they announce that they will protest until the end. – Today it is difficult to talk about Polish transport to and from Ukraine, because we have completely lost this market to Ukrainian carriers, who have increased the number of transports several times since the beginning of the Russian attack on this country, explained the president of the Transport and Logistics Employers’ Association.
– Of course, the Ukrainian market has never been significant for our entire industry. But on the other hand, it provided work to carriers from the Lublin and Podkarpackie voivodeships who specialized in transport to the east. Today they are becoming bankrupt. Especially since, given the recession in the entire market, they will not find work anywhere else – added Maciej Wroński in an interview with RMF FM.
