One of the duties of the UOKiK President is to oversee compliance with the law among both small businesses and international giants.
Digital logistics or analog system, who fell under the officials’ scrutiny?
Therefore, officials, equipped with official court orders and operating with police assistance, launched a decisive offensive, conducting surprise searches at the Lidl network headquarters and offices of affiliated transport carriers. The target was the logistical backbone serving this discount giant.
The raid covered the well‑known company Omega Pilzno in Pilzno, companies from the dynamic Van Group (including Van Cargo, Kurier in Łuków and Podlasie in Łuków), Zbigniew Ratajczak Transport and Forwarding Company in Bogucin, and the enterprise Dar-Pol run by Dariusz Kulesza in Ochudnie. Both the giant and the logistics firms are suspected of colluding in a personnel conspiracy.
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The lock‑out algorithm and a no‑exit system. How was the alleged mechanism supposed to work?
The suspicion concerns an illegal agreement aimed at freezing the labor market and limiting employment flexibility. According to preliminary findings by UOKiK officials, carriers servicing Lidl’s strategic distribution centers could have agreed not to compete for professional drivers.
In practice this meant imposing a hard block on employee transfers – companies simply did not hire drivers moving from firms involved in the personnel conspiracy. These arrangements were made directly or via the trade network.
The most intriguing is the alleged role of Lidl itself. According to findings, the corporation did not have to be a passive observer. Officials suspect the network of creating real enforcement mechanisms for the conspiracy, operating like an access‑rights system.
If a driver changed employers to another carrier within the group, Lidl could block their physical entry onto its distribution center premises. Moreover, the conspiracy was supposed to include a ban on larger shippers taking over smaller subcontractors, stifling natural market competition.
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Punishments that could reset several companies
For the TSL industry, the current situation (inextricably linked to funds) is a potential black‑swan event capable of shaking valuations. At this stage, the investigative procedure is being conducted in the matter, not against specific entities. It is a classic sweep and analysis of secured disks and documents. If the collected evidence confirms the officials’ claims, a full antitrust proceeding will commence, and huge allegations and penalties will surface.
As the UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny emphasizes:
Labor market conspiracies are not only ethically reprehensible – they are primarily illegal. As a result, employees cannot change employment, and employers are not required to improve working conditions, e.g., raise wages or grant additional benefits. During the searches at Lidl headquarters and transport companies, we collected evidence that we are currently analysing.
It is worth noting that the penalty rates in this case are astronomical and can permanently damage companies’ financial balances. Companies face sanctions up to 10% of their annual turnover, which for large players means losses in the tens of millions of PLN.
Furthermore, managers responsible for creating such anti‑competitive mechanisms may be penalised with individual penalties – up to 2 million PLN per person.
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Source: UOKiK
