The Biedronka retail chain, the Polish brand of Jerónimo Martins, was ordered by the Polish competition regulator UOKiK to pay a fine of 525 million zlotys, equivalent to approximately 121 million euros. The sanction is due to an agreement between competing companies not to hire workers, specifically drivers, which allowed keeping these professionals' wages artificially low. Most of the fine, 525 million zlotys out of a total of 570 million, was applied to Jerónimo Martins' subsidiary in Poland.
The anti-competitive agreement involved 29 transport companies and ran between June 2017 and at least February 2024. The companies involved agreed not to hire drivers from each other, creating downward pressure on these professionals' wages. The European Commission analyzed the case and concluded that the conduct violated European Union competition rules, providing European-level support for the Polish authority's decision.
UOKiK's president, Tomasz Chrostny, stated that a conspiracy that removes rights from workers strikes at the basic principles of fair competition and that these practices must be determinedly eliminated from the market. The regulator considered that Jerónimo Martins organized and enforced the scheme, using its dominant position in the retail market to prevent access to its distribution centers to drivers who changed jobs in violation of the agreement.
Biedronka is Poland's largest retail chain, with approximately 3,900 stores. The company has not yet publicly commented on the decision.
