Polish truck drivers suspend their strike at Polish-Ukrainian border crossings. They hope to reach an agreement with the new government.
The new Polish government has reached an agreement with truck drivers who have been blocking Polish-Ukrainian border crossings for months to denounce unfair competition between carriers. They agreed to suspend their action to allow new negotiations.
“Yes, an agreement has been reached and, to be honest, we hope that this is the start of a resolution to this complicated situation” says Paweł Śliz, MP for Poland 2050 – Third Way.
The first Ukrainian drivers managed to cross without major obstacles. This temporary solution allows them to finally return home after a long journey in difficult weather conditions.
“We have been waiting since this evening, but things are going well, things continue to move forward… Heading home, the wife is waiting with the children and the rest of the family, and the Polish drivers are also awaited by their wives and their families. children” comments Sergii, a Ukrainian truck driver.
Even though Polish drivers say they will continue to defend their demands, they say they want to give negotiations with the government a chance. Jacek Sokol, spokesperson for the truckers’ strike, says “we gave the Polish government time until March 1 so that we could just sit back and see what they managed to do for us. A small success is that, on the Ukrainian side, the vehicles that are about to to enter Poland are already excluded from the so-called “electronic queue”, and they can register until 8 p.m. and leave Ukraine first, so we can already see here the first acts of goodwill on the Ukrainian side”.
The suspension of the strike at three border crossings is temporary and negotiations and arrangements are still ongoing. So, to know their final form, truckers will have to wait.
