Reactions to Scotti sh Overtime Claim
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FOLLOWING the attempt by the Scottish Horse and Motormen's Association to get individually-negotiated increases in overtime payments for members employed by hauliers, the Scottish area secretary of the Road Haulage Association, Mr. Leslie Stokoe, has circularized members reminding them that overtime payments, like other aspects of haulage workers' pay, are covered by the nationally negotiated agreement embodied in R.H.(74).
The Horse and Motormen last week wrote to individual Scottish hauliers, asking to meet them to negotiate on new overtime rates—the object being to introduce time-and-a-half payment for those hours now worked at time-and-a-quarter. This week Mr. A. Kitson, the union's general secretary, told The Commercial Motor that he had had many replies from hauliers, most of them refusing a meeting and suggesting national negotiation through the recognized machinery. But a few—including one or two large operators —have agreed to meet the union and Mr. Kitson will report back to his executive before seeing them. The executive, due to meet in the next week or two, will also decide what action to recommend to members in view of hauliers' refusal, in the main, to negotiate individually.
One organization which has not been approached by the union is the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society which, although it runs largely C-licensed transl port. has some haulage vehicles. But the S.C.W.S., in its last annual agreement with the unions reduced the time-and-aquarter payment period for week-day overtime from the first six hours to the first three hours, the other three hours being up-rated to time-and-a-half.
C-licensees have not been approached by the union, overtime rates already being subject in most cases to individual pay agreements.
Meanwhile, the detailed formulation of a national haulage pay claim, to be presented (as revealed in The Commercial Motor last week) early in the New Year, awaits the arrangement of a meeting between the unions.