Stories of our drivers - Andrii

Ania: Andri how long have you been with us?

Andrii: It will be six years in November.

Ania: Maybe before you reveal to our readers how you ended up at Driver CE, tell us about life in Ukraine....

Andrii: Ukraine, that's how it was before the war... I lived in a small village in the east of Ukraine, I won't say exactly where, because now it's better not to reveal such things. You know an ordinary village, simple people, cows, horses, tractors, fields, ordinary village life. Father took care of the small farm, mother the house. We had something to eat but what a life it was for a young man. I turned 21 and met a girl, the daughter of a farmer from a neighbouring village.  He was a rich man by those standards. He had 20 hectares , five cows and pigs. Surprisingly, they had no objections and after knowing each other for a year, I married Tatiana. We moved in with my in-laws and had a daughter, Marina. The three-room house was occupied by my in-laws, us with our daughter and my wife's two younger brothers. I worked with my father-in-law and brothers-in-law, my wife and her mother made cheese and even sent it to Kiev. It was a good life but was this what I wanted for my family? The grind day and night? No corner of my own? I was 23 years old and didn't know what to do next... A friend from my school days told me during a party that he was leaving for Poland. He had arranged a job at a factory in Wrocław, together with accommodation through an agency.

Anna: And what did you do? Did you go with him?

Andri: Not so straight away, I first had to convince my wife to leave. We agreed that I would leave for a year and a half at the most and then we would decide whether I was coming back or she was coming to me. Plus we were still convinced by the whole situation with Crimea, you know it was 2014 and the pseudo annexation. I borrowed money from my father-in-law. I called Anton, asked about the conditions, contacted the agency that hired him and after 4 weeks I was in Wroclaw.

Anne: What were the beginnings in Poland?

Andri: You know those were the days when you still couldn't hear Ukrainian on the streets. It was difficult. We were a group of a dozen Ukrainians in the factory, nobody spoke Ukrainian. Thank God our team leader spoke a bit of Russian, you know she remembered from school and somehow managed to get along with us.

Anne: What were you doing there?

Andri: Such simple piecework stuff, car harnesses, some components. How fast you made the cash was not bad by Ukrainian standards. I was sending most of it for Tatiana, leaving it for food. In the long run, such a life was as pointless as in Ukraine, plus I was alone.

Ania: So how did it happen that you became an international driver?

Andri: Let me first tell you how I came up with the idea. After a year of time in the factory, I had mini savings because I was making money as a plumber at weekends, I forgot to mention to you that I am a plumber by training. What else? And I spoke pretty good Polish.  Polish drivers used to come to the factory for loading, for some of what we produced. There were two of them, Wiesiek and Mirek. Once I heard them talking about wages and it was as if I had been shot by lightning. I can earn several times as much as an international driver, the only obstacle is the c+e licence.

Anne: Did you make them quickly?

Andri: I passed the first time. I found that since I succeeded in that, my first job would also be a success.

Anna: And what was that like?

Andri: I couldn't have been more wrong. My first job as a driver was hard to find because of my lack of experience. I finally found a transport company on the internet, they were based in Podlasie and they drove double. They got me the paperwork, it took a bit of a long time because it took 6 weeks and in addition I had to pay for a place to sleep. For 3 months I drove on an old Daf with one like Jarek, a good guy but you know the type of old driver who didn't care about me much. I was more his assistant to tighten the belts than a driver. I learned everything practically on my own.

Ania: And the working conditions, the pay?

Andri: When we came back from the tour it was Jarek who was known to go home, I slept in such Dutch cottages. It's a good thing it was in summer, because I couldn't imagine sleeping there in winter. I thought the pay was pretty good at the time, but I didn't know it was a pittance for a driver. I was employed for about 1/8th time and the rest was to hand and on top of that there were strange fuel surcharges, some late fees that weren't there, even for cleaning the cottages. Once I drove by myself and the car got unloaded I was told by my boss that I had to make it so I could get there and he didn't give a shit. I lasted three months and left.

Ania: How did you continue to look for work?

Andri: The easiest way is on FB, there are a lot of different industry groups there. I contacted one company, supposedly large, good fleet and when asked about wages and working conditions I was again told a contract for a certain amount, the rest under the table, notes, fuel. History was about to repeat itself... I was about to close the computer when I said, why should I look for a job? Let the job look for me.

Anne: And did she find it?

Andri: And very quickly! I posted on FB that I was looking for a job and gave my conditions. Of course there was an outpouring of heckling that I was out of my mind and what I expected... Only one comment was positive. "Lucyna Driver CE please contact me" and gave a number. I called.

Ania: Now that we're getting to that point, tell us what it was like for us at Driver CE.

Andri: It was a bit of a clash with reality as Lucyna made me realise how I was being exploited. They got my documents done in 2 weeks. During the waiting time I lived in their hotel for free and went through a series of training sessions to prepare me for my future job. Once I had completed the training and received the documents, I was assigned a coordinator. Ms Marlena asked what my priorities were, I said I wanted to work in Poland, a paycheck of at least 2300 euros and wanted to bring my family. Marlena made me an offer within 2 days and we signed the employment contract on the spot. Within the next 2 months we managed to bring my family. Marlena helped us to find a flat and a kindergarten for our daughter.

Ania: What can you say about Driver CE?

Andri: An honest company that does not look at the driver as an object. They have the right people in the right place who I can count on in every situation. If I could turn back time, I would never look for a job on my own, I would rather trust a specialist like Driver CE.