Logistics solutions provider PostNL Belgium has released a statement after the Belgian legal authorities raided and sealed off two PostNL Belgium depots on March 28.
Though PostNL has said that a number of staff were arrested, it has not confirmed which staff were implicated. According to the local newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, the Belgian police arrested Rudy van Rillaer, the CEO of PostNL Belgium. The NL Times has since reported that van Rillaer has been released with conditions, while the other staff arrested have been released without conditions.
In a letter addressing the issue, Liesbeth Kaashoek, director of parcels and logistics, Benelux, PostNL, said, “This course of action by the Belgian legal authorities is extremely intimidating for our people, of course, while prosecutor for the employment courts Gianni Reale has used the media to accuse us of “people trafficking”, being a “criminal organisation” and “forgery”.
“There has been no official notification whatsoever of the serious allegations, that are being aired without any evidence. We are totally in the dark as to what these suspicions are based on, making it very hard for us to defend ourselves against these persistent allegations.
“We emphatically deny such major allegations, and would point out that the picture being painted does not resemble our daily work practices. As far as we’re concerned, there are no grounds whatsoever to besmirch PostNL’s good name in this fashion, and we consider this action out of all proportion and unacceptable.
“The way this situation is being handled raises major questions about the arbitrariness displayed by the relevant authorities in their actions. I should reiterate that, over the past few months, we have consistently provided our full cooperation with the authorities’ investigations and questions, and that no major or structural wrongdoing in our way of working has come to light. Meanwhile, we have further enhanced our controls and taken additional measures to ensure compliance with the country’s social legislation.”
