Five-day Week for Co-op Drivers
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FROM OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT
DRIVERS employed by some 800 co-operative societies up and down the country are to be given a five-day working week, under an agreement announced. last week. The agreement, which covers approximately 250,000 workers, was reached between the National Wages Board of the Co-operative Union Ltd. and the Joint Trade Union Negotiating Committee for the Retail Co-operative Movement. It represents the biggest single advance towards giving workers in retail distribution conditions similar to those enjoyed in factories.
The six unions that are parties to the -agreement include the Transport and General Workers' Union, the United Road Transport Workers' Association of England and the Scottish Commercial Motormen's Union. Between them they represent thousands of drivers and other transport staff.
A joint statement signed by Mr. L. Oakes on behalf of the Co-operative Union Ltd. and by Mr. Alfred W. Allen on behalf of the unions, indicated that agreement had been reached for a fiveday working week in principle in all retail co-operative establishments.
The statement added that the intentions of the parties to the agreement were that, having accepted the principle nationally, its operation, which it was hoped would be as speedy as possible,
would depend on negotiations between the local retail co-operative society and the union branches involved at local level to determine the details of shop opening and closing. In the event of the local parties being unable to reach agreement, the matter...might be referred to the joint sub-committee for national negotiations.
The co-operative societies, with their 30,000 shops and supermarkets, will not be the first in retail distribution to introduce a five-day week. Sainsbury and Lewis are among others which led the way. But with the largest sector of the industry now committed, the rest are expected to follow promptly, with all the changes that this will involve for theit transport departments.
Mr. Gibb's Continental Subject for Spurrier Lecture
"THE carriage of goods by road in I Europe" is the subject which Mr. T. G. Gibb, vice-chairman and managing director of the B.R.S. Federation, has chosen for this year's Henry Spurrier Memorial Lecture. Mr. Gibb will give the lecture to the Institute of Transport on December 14, at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Great George Street, London, S.W.!.
It is understood that the paper will include a really wide-ranging review of road haulage on the Continent.