T&G survey shows better pay deals
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by Dominic Perry Truck drivers' pay deals are improving, according to the Transport & General Workers' Union.
The preliminary findings of the union's national survey Into trends in the transport industry—including aviation, docks and public transport—indicate that pay settlements rose by an average of 3.113% last year, compared with a national average of 2.9%.
However, it also reveals that low pay and long hours still cause a sIgnMcant problem when operators are trying to recruit and retain staff.
Graham Stevenson, the T&G's national organiser for transport, says: "Clearly we welcome the higher levels of pay settlements that are being reached, in the bus and road haulage sectors especially. However, those deals reflect the low starting point for many transport workers."
The T&G Insists the study is represen
tative of road haulage, even though it was conducted within several different industries—the highest number of respondents came from public transport.
A T&G spokesman says: "The point we would make is that we are seeing some progress with the figures we have collected already, particularly in road haulage where we are seeing some pay increases that are better than the national average.
"However, we are in first gear at the moment, and want to move up," he adds.
A spokesman for the Freight Transport Association cautiously welcomed the report's findings, saying: "We must not present ourselves as a low pay Industry. However, the competitiveness of the situation alongside the lower margins hauliers are getting are inhibiting the increases In pay, and costs are being screwed down."
The Road Haulage Association says It agrees with the findings of the report.