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NEC grows

6th August 1983, Page 6
6th August 1983
Page 6
Page 6, 6th August 1983 — NEC grows
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

THERE ARE NOW over 13,000 employee/pensioner/family shareholders in the National Freight Consortium, following the latest effort to widen ownership. Over half of the 22,900-strong workforce now owns shares.

A further 2,723 employees took advantage of the NFC's "second chance" deal to buy shares in the formerly nationalised business (CM, July 2), and existing employees offered to sell over 360,000 £1.60 shares to their colleagues.

According to NFC, only a "small number" of the 600,000 new shares it was prepared to issue to satisfy demand were required, so shareholders' equity will not be diluted further.

NFC chairman Peter Thompson, who was keen to avoid a "them and us" gap widening between shareholding and nonshareholding employees, commented last week: "I extend a warm welcome to all our new shareholders and would like to thank every one of the existing shareholders who offered some of their valued shares for sale to their colleagues. Their action has furthered the vision of a united company."

An NFC spokesman told CM it was impossible to tell whether the new shareholders were concentrated in any one area of the business. It is not policy to identify any shareholders and no list is available.

When the Consortium first floated its plans for a buy-out of the nationalised National Freight Company in 1981, the Transport and General Workers Union told its members to reject the offer.

Management has since acknowledged that TGWU opposition did deter many employees from bidding for shares, and the Union was still advising its members against taking advantage of the latest offer.

• Management staff at CotraliPickfords, the National Freight Consortium-owned wine importer specialist, has won a four per cent pay increase back-dated to January 1 this year.

In response to the Transport Salaried Staff Association claim, the company had offered 2.5 per cent. A TSSA spokesman said it was unhappy with the settlement, but the state of the transport industry dictated that many settlements would be fairly low.

The pay increase was similar to that negotiated for the clerical staff at the company.

• NFC in Ulster, p7


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