A Romanian driver who worked for nearly five years for the Limburg transport company Essers will receive compensation equivalent to a Belgian salary after winning his case in the Hasselt Labour Court.
The man won his case after eight years of proceedings, the CSC Transcom said in a statement on Thursday. The union interprets this decision as a "significant victory, a new decisive step in the fight against social dumping, after years of exploitation by the Essers group."
Under contract with the Romanian subsidiary of the international group based in Genk, Stephan Popescu worked for several years for a salary of barely €300 per month. "He worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He was led to believe that he would eventually obtain a Belgian contract and therefore a Belgian salary, which was not the case," explains the CSC.
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However, the court has just recognised that he could claim a Belgian salary and working conditions since he worked mainly from Belgium. The driver will therefore collect all of his salary arrears, according to the union.
This judgement `'opens a path to the thousands of foreigners active on Belgian roads, but who have a contract in their country of origin and therefore a lower salary. This decision may allow them to go to a Belgian court in the future to claim their legitimate salaries," comments Koen Ryckenboer, general manager of ACV-Transcom (CSC-Transcom).
