The company that does salvage work for the police is Logicx and part of the ANWB, which is responsible for the spokesperson. “We do not remove tractors from farmers because we have chosen for the safety of our own personnel.”
According to the spokesperson, the risk of something bad happening is too great. “Everyone knows what the atmosphere is like around the protests. You see it in all the media. That’s why we made this decision.”
Agreements about safety
The police say in a short response that ‘something is more nuanced’. “As a result of the blockade at Minister Van der Wal, Logicx has indeed indicated that it no longer wishes to carry out these activities because of the safety of their staff,” said a spokesperson.
“But then we did make additional agreements with each other that we will work together better in the future when it comes to safety.” Police say they are unable to provide a more detailed response for the time being.
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Smaller recovery companies are also not eager to take tractors off the road. Takelbedrijf Hof from Heerenveen even posted a message about this on its website, after ‘rumours’ had circulated online that the company would tow tractors during protests.
‘A lot of contact with farmers’
“This is not correct and we will not do this,” reads the site. “We are in regular contact with the farmers in our region and support these farmers’ families. We stand for the safety of our employees and would like to guarantee this.”
The tow company does not want to go into too much detail about the message on their site. The owner does say that they received ‘a lot of phone calls and emails’ after the incorrect message appeared online that the company is taking tractors off the road. “But it has been neatly resolved. We have received an apology from the people who put this online.”
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Sander Vlaar, owner of salvage company Bergnet, has also informed his control room that requests from, for example, enforcement to take tractors off the road during protests are not being granted.
“You are dealing with a large fanatical movement,” explains Vlaar. “Towing a tractor is likely to haunt you on social media for a long time to come. You work hard to build a well-regarded business, and something like that could haunt you for a long time.”
‘No contractual consequences’
In addition to the police, Rijkswaterstaat, which is responsible for the highways in the Netherlands, has also been in contact with recovery companies. Rijkswaterstaat last week sent an email to the organizations they work with to say that they are ‘not obliged to rely on those reports’.
“A farmer’s protest is of course very different from bad luck or an accident,” explains a spokesperson. “That is why we have communicated to recovery companies that there are no contractual consequences if they choose not to tow tow trucks. It is up to the recovery company to make that decision.”
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