Geronimo Martins fines 121 million for collusion in Poland

O president of the Competition and Consumer Protection Office has fined more than 570 million zlotys (EUR 131.7 million at the current exchange rate) to the owner of the Biedronça supermarket chain, 29 transport companies and eight individuals, read on UOKIK's website.

According to the regulatory authority, “transport companies agreed not to compete for employees and Jeronimo Martins Polska coordinated this agreement.”.

According to UOKIK, as a consequence, “the freedom of drivers to change their employer has been restricted, which may have resulted in worse working conditions for thousands of drivers over the years.”.

“ Workers have the right to seek better wages and working conditions. The connivance that denies this right to workers violates the fundamental principles of fair competition. These practices must be eliminated mercilessly from the market,” says Tomasz Chróstny, president of the Competition and Consumer Protection Office, quoted on the website.

According to the regulator, in the transport companies that served Biedronla's distribution centers, drivers employed in these companies had little freedom to change jobs, and the "decisive factor was not competence", but rather for those who worked previously.

“ This was the result of a collusion between Geronimo Martins Polska and its partner transport companies, which lasted from June 2017 until at least February 2024”, when UOK conducted an investigation.

In this sense, the chairman of the Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK) imposed fines that total more than 570 million zlotys to participants in this agreement, including 525 million zlotys to the owner of Biedronka.

“The decision was subject to review by the European Commission, which agreed with the Office’s argument that there was a breach of competition.”.

According to the regulator, carriers serving the distribution centres of Biedronka agreed not to compete for workers, which meant that they would not hire drivers from other companies participating in the collusion.

“A driver who previously worked for one of these companies needed to obtain the authorization of his current employer to change jobs. Otherwise, it would be prevented from working at the centre for another company until a specific period (the so-called tolerance period) was elapsed”, i.e., “several months, depending on the distribution center”.

In other words, “the introduction of a grace period and the prohibition of entry into the distribution center made hiring a driver by a competitor unfeasible, because a driver who decided to change his company could not work at the distribution center for several months.”.

This agreement allowed “carriers to limit competition by drivers and reduce the risk of losing employees to other companies serving the same distribution center,” which may have reduced the pressure on drivers’ wage increases, impacting the working conditions of thousands of drivers.