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Staff at Wincanton threaten walk-out
Page 9
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• by Melanie Hammond Drivers at Wincanton are threatening to walk out if they are not granted the substantial pay increase they have been demanding since September.
Pay is just one of a list of grievances they have put to the company; others include working conditions and driver safety.
The dispute involws drivers at depots in Dunstable, Purfleet, Swindon and Birmingham. They hope a deal will be struck today [Thursday) at a meeting with management.
One driver says: 'They've been promising us a decent increase for months but it's just dragging on and on. We'll see what comes out of today. If we don't get what we want, there could be some industrial action."
Another driver says: "They don't take us seriously. They think they can just replace us with agency drivers."
A Wincanton spokesman says: "We consider this to be a private mat ter between employees, union representatives and management. Staff do have agreed procedures to make their complaints known."
Earlier this month, night workers at the company's Purfleet satellite warehouse temporarily stopped work as a protest at having to work in an unheated building where the ambient temperature had fallen below freezing.
Wincanton insists: "As a company we take the welfare of our workers very seriously and ensure they are provided with appropriate workwear suitable for their working conditions."
But the night workers claim the company-issue thermal overalls were not warm enough.
Wincanton night drivers have also raised concerns about personal safety after two drivers delivering high-value goods to WH Smith stores were attacked in separate incidents.
A truck and its contents is also reported to have been stolen during a delivery at Thurrock before Christmas. A company spokesman comments: "Workers are given specific instructions on how to deal with dangerous situations."