A lorry driver working for a Lithuanian transport group parked his truck in a car park in the Netherlands as part of a one-man strike against the exploitation he experienced from his employer.
Amirjon, a trucker from Tajikistan, came to Europe for work and has been carrying out international transport for the Lithuanian company Hoptrans since 2023. After living in the cab of his vehicle for four months, and due to his employer’s frequent delays in paying his wages, unjustified deductions from his salary, and refusal to provide documentation, Amirjon decided to start a one-man strike. He stopped his truck and its load in a Dutch car park at the end of September and refused to continue working until he received his outstanding wages.
The Tajik trucker was supported by Edwin Atema of the Dutch trade union FNV, who was also involved with drivers from the Polish company Agmaz, who had been protesting for weeks.
According to Atema, Amirjon tried for months to resolve his dispute with his employer, including writing to them asking for all salary slips and an explanation of the unjustified deductions. Unfortunately, his requests went unanswered. The company merely informed him that all deductions were legitimate and that the situation would be resolved upon his return to the company’s headquarters in Lithuania.
However, the meeting at the company never took place, and the carrier postponed the talks indefinitely. Instead, the employer accused Amirjon of misappropriating the load and threatened him with a fine of €350 for each day the goods were delayed. The distressed trucker also recounted that one night, a person with a second key to his vehicle opened the truck and tried to force him to continue his route. FNV reported the incident to the police immediately.
Customer response While the employer did not respond to the one-man strike, the shipper of the goods that Amirjon was transporting quickly reacted. The Lithuanian group’s client announced that it was blocking all transport orders for Hoptrans until the carrier clarified the situation. The client also stated they were ready to blacklist the Lithuanian company if the accusations of exploitation were proven true.
“If the FNV were to turn its back on such cases, it would mean that companies like Hoptrans would thrive. This would not only lead to the exploitation of Hoptrans’ own drivers, but would also push companies that comply with the regulations out of the market. Hoptrans saw the Netherlands as one big free car park where nobody pays attention to enforcing rules and human rights,” commented Edwin Atema.
