- The company and its employees show solidarity with the people of Ukraine
- Jürgen Hartwig, Member of the Management Board of Daimler Truck AG in charge of Human Resources: “As part of a joint effort between companies and employee representatives, we are launching a global fundraising campaign that will benefit UN refugee aid. We hope for a great turnout and look forward to doubling the amount collected at the end. »
- Michael Brecht, Chairman of the Central Works Council of Daimler Truck AG: “With the joint donation initiative of the company, the central works council and the global employee council, we have the opportunity to make our contribution for the people of Ukraine and at the same time demonstrate global solidarity of our employees. »
- Daimler Truck has already donated one million euros to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as emergency aid
- Provision of trucks and buses as well as tourist coaches for various aid transports and the transport of refugees
In this difficult period of war, Daimler Truck and its employees around the world send a multitude of strong signs of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. As an immediate measure, the Board of Directors of Daimler Truck has already approved a monetary donation of one million euros to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In addition, the company provides trucks and buses as well as tourist coaches for the delivery of various aids, as well as in-kind donations and staff support for targeted support campaigns. Currently, employees can make donations and the company will match the amount raised at the end of the campaign.
Employee giving campaign for Ukraine
At the end of March, the Executive Committee, the Central Works Council and the World Employees Council of Daimler Truck launched a worldwide fundraising campaign: the approximately 100,000 employees in all regions where the company operates want to show their commitment. As part of this campaign, which will end in mid-April 2022, they can donate money. At the end of this collection, Daimler Truck will match the total amount of money that has been donated up to that time.
The total amount of the employee donation campaign will be donated to UN Refugee Aid, the national partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), to help people in Ukraine directly affected by the war as well as those who flee and are displaced. In addition to distributing food, blankets, mattresses and other humanitarian supplies, UNHCR’s activities over the past few weeks have included helping local authorities set up transit and reception centers in Ukraine and neighboring countries. With money raised from the employee giving campaign, Daimler Truck is helping the organization expand its operations and capabilities across the region.
Jürgen Hartwig, Member of the Management Board of Daimler Truck AG responsible for Human Resources, emphasizes the solidarity between the company and its employees in order to jointly support people in Ukraine: “At Daimler Truck, it is very important for us to help people in Ukraine. Because in many cases, the attack on the country changed their entire lives overnight. We know there is a strong will among our employees around the world to help refugees from Ukraine. In a joint effort of companies and employee representatives, we are therefore launching a global fundraising campaign for the benefit of United Nations refugee aid. We hope for a great turnout and look forward to matching the amount raised at the end. With this donation, we are expanding the relief efforts already initiated for the Ukrainian people. »
Michael Brecht, Chairman of the Central Board of Daimler Truck AG, welcomes this direct cross-border initiative: “The war in Ukraine is causing great suffering for the people and is a humanitarian tragedy. The joint donation initiative of the company, the Central Works Council and the global employee representation gives us the opportunity to make our contribution to the Ukrainian population and at the same time demonstrates the global solidarity of our employees. »
Daimler Truck has already donated one million euros to the United Nations Children’s Fund.
In the immediate future, the Board of Directors of Daimler Truck has already approved a donation of one million euros to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)*. With these donations, UNICEF buys food, drinking water, first aid kits, toys and winter clothing for war-affected children.
Ukraine Humanitarian Aid Task Force coordinates relief operations
Within the “Humanitarian Aid in Ukraine” working group, employees from the most diverse divisions of the global industrial vehicle manufacturer coordinate the aid campaigns. Indeed, many volunteers from all Daimler Truck sites, branches and national companies around the world participate in a large number of central and local aid projects launched for the benefit of the Ukrainian population since the beginning of the war.
Provision of trucks and tourist coaches
The company provides free trucks and buses as well as tourist coaches for aid deliveries, as well as in-kind and cash donations for targeted relief actions. An example of this is the Daimler Truck aid convoy with five Actros trailers which started in mid-March: it set off in the direction of Poland from Würzburg, via Neumünster and Eisenach. The trucks carried 105 pallets of medical supplies to treat patients at the hospital in the Ukrainian city of Lviv. The cargo included water, disinfectants, hygiene products, food and medical equipment such as ultrasound machines. Near the Ukrainian border, in the Polish town of Tomaszów Lubelski, relief supplies were loaded onto Ukrainian trucks for further transport to Lviv. The convoy was carried out in cooperation with the association “Freunde helfen! Konvoi gGmbH”, which has an efficient network in neighboring countries. The organization’s volunteers have been organizing similar aid convoys for many years and were able to contribute their valuable experience.
But the company also took part in other joint campaigns: with the participation of numerous companies, the logisticians Große-Vehne (Stuttgart) and Keller Group (Ditzingen) also organized a relief convoy in mid-March with a total of three 40-tonne trucks to the Przemysl region in eastern Poland. Daimler Truck supported the aid convoy with two trucks, donations of relief materials and volunteer drivers. The humanitarian supplies and food on board the trucks were then collected by the humanitarian organization “SEKH DOBROTY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION” and transported to the Lviv region. From there they were distributed to the most affected areas of Ukraine.
In order to support the Ukrainian population with a short-term relief campaign, Daimler Truck employees in the Stuttgart region joined forces with the association Ukrainer in Stuttgart eV and collected relief supplies. Three relief convoys to the Polish town of Zgorzelec with the donated goods – sleeping bags, water bottles, nappies, canned food, pasta and much more – have been organized since early March with a Mercedes-Benz Atego provided by Daimler Truck. A Ukrainian freight forwarder took care of the further distribution in Ukraine.
In addition, the European subsidiaries of Daimler Truck and Daimler Buses organize various local aid activities in their home countries. Many of them provide buses and tourist coaches for transporting people and trucks for transporting food, medicine and other essential supplies. In the countries directly bordering Ukraine, they often also offer parking spaces and accommodation for aid convoys from Germany.
Daimler buses: tourist coaches bring refugees to safety
Transporting people fleeing Ukraine to safe destinations without the threat of war is just as important as delivering aid. For example, Daimler Truck’s bus division donated five Setra and Mercedes-Benz touring coaches to the German Red Cross.
Daimler Buses has also provided several bus and touring coach companies with demo buses and touring coaches free of charge. They have been used by coach operators such as Bayer Reisen, Missel Reisen, Theos Reisen and Ruhrtalbus to transport medical supplies and other essentials to Ukrainian borders. On the way back, they took care of people from Ukraine arriving in the border regions of Slovakia and Poland. In the meantime, the campaigns have transported many women, children, elderly and sick people to safe shelters and state-run refugee centers in Germany.
Continuation of the aid campaigns: the second Daimler Truck aid convoy is ready to leave
Another aid convoy is currently being prepared. As of Friday this week, five fully loaded Actros semi-trailer trucks will leave for Poland. Once again, they will transport medical equipment to help the population of the troubled city of Lviv. Trucks from Mercedes-Benz CharterWay and other divisions are driven by Daimler Truck volunteers.
Daimler Truck press release.
