UT offers sacked drivers settlement
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by Juliet Parish • United Transport UK has offered six of its former drivers an out-of-court settlement to stop them progressing with a High Court writ claiming the company illegally broke their conditions of employment.
The six, who were sacked after refusing to take their name off the writ, have been offered more than £1,000 each. And the BET subsidiary has offered to pay the legal fees that the Transport & General Workers Union had to pay while representing the Purfleet and West London-based tanker drivers.
The drivers—Alan Hall, Robert Clowe, Cohn Canning, Terry Carpenter, James Peters and David White—are still considering the offer. They signed the writ after deciding that the
company had forced them to agree to new contracts under duress. The contracts would have reduced their wages by around £3,800 a year (CM 23-29 Sept 1993).
All of them still plan to pursue their case for unfair dismissal at industrial tribunals.
The company, which previously operated as United Transport Tankers, contested the writ after it was served last September (CM 28 October-3 November 1993). Marketing director Roger Kitchener would not comment on its U-turn: `Due to the legal implications United Transport UK is unable to comment on this matter. We are currently in discussions with the staff involved and are looking to resolve the situation as soon as possible."