A new business model seems to be taking hold in a logistics system under huge strain At dusk one day this month, dozens of lorries registered in Lithuania, Poland and Romania were packed like giant sardines just off the M25. The truck stop for international drivers heading north from Dover was in a mud and gravel field around an old house converted into a cafe-cum-barber shop. Russian was the common language as much as English. Among the drivers using the open-air showers or cooking over gas stoves was Yuri from Ukraine who had been living in his truck for six months, and felt forced to break EU safety rules on driving hours and rest. His paperwork showed he worked for a subcontractor and on this trip had been making deliveries to Amazon warehouses. Continue reading... |