Irish Ferrymasters threatens pay cut
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by Sally Nash • Drivers working for the Irish division of P&O Ferrymasters might face pay cuts of £180 a month unless vehicle productivity increases by 20%.
The move is part of an attempt to slash driver costs in the division by £ 750,000 a year by reducing its workforce through voluntary redundancy and trimming the wage bill, Leaked correspondence shows that P&O Ferrymasters plans to introduce a new payment system with drivers facing pay cuts of £45 a week on average, based on current levels of productivity. Only if a 20% increase in productivity is achieved will their earnings return to current levels, according to P&O divisional director Mark Forrest.
In a letter to drivers in July, Forrest spelt out the company's desire to bring in productivity-related pay, despite resistance to the idea. "We very strongly favour the introduction of an individual productivityrelated payment structure and while they (shop stewards) registered their disapproval, it remains our intention to pursue this line of thinking," he wrote.
Group personnel officer Mike Bousfield says the company has identified some specific areas where productivity could be "sharpened up", such as improving turnaround times at customers' premises.
P&O Ferrymasters blames the changes on the huge cost differential in Ireland between employing subcontractors and operating its own trucks. It says it costs between £10,000 and £12,000 more to operate a Ferrymasters vehicle. These high operating costs are making the company uncompetitive, says Forrest.
According to a spokesman for P&O Ferrymasters, a simplified pay structure will reduce the working week from 63 hours to 57.5 hours.
P&O has come under fire for its rates of pay before. In May CM reported that Tyneside family haulier Twice Vital had closed its business, blaming P&O Ferrymasters' unviable short-haul rates.
And just one month before that, P&O Trans European was attacked by the Transport & General Workers Union for its plans to slash pay by between £69 and £120 in several regions around the country, including Grangemouth.
P&O Trans European has just reported a £4.4m operating profit for the first six months of the year, compared with Lim for the first half in 1997.