Police raid squalid trucker camp near German border

200 Filipino truckers found living in paltry conditions

The police have raided a camp that had a reported 200 Filipino truckers living in ghastly conditions in containers in Padborg, near the border with Germany.

The truckers, who are employed by the transport company Kurt Beier Transport via a Polish sub-contractor, lived in what the police described as “very Spartan” conditions that prompted the need for further investigation.

Kurt Beier Transport head Karsten Beier contended there were about 25, and not 200, truckers who lived on the company’s property and that the firm adhered to all laws and regulations.

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3F appalled
But the union 3F has heavily criticised the conditions, maintaining that the truckers work for wages of around 6,000 kroner per month.

“I’ve never seen anything so dire,” Kim Brandt, the head of 3F in Aabenraa, told DR Nyheder.

“This surpasses anything I’ve seen. These are truckers who are paid two euros an hour.”

Currently, 26 of the truckers are co-operating with the police in the investigation and are giving statements regarding their work, employment, taxes and housing. The case will also be brought before the European Parliament.

Aside from the police, the tax authority, Aabenraa Municipality, the immigration control authority and the fire and safety authorities are also part of the investigation.

The investigation is looking into whether the living conditions of the truckers are so poor that the case could be encompassed by the scope of human trafficking legislation.

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