'Witch hunt' unjust, says haulier
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BRAIN HAULAGE, one of the five hauliers singled out by the Government to be blacklisted for negotiating a pay settlement of over 10 per cent with its drivers, described the blacklist as a witch hunt.
Company secretary Stephen Wells told CM: "The whole idea of a blacklist is a purely arbitrary misuse of Government powers.
"We are not questioning the Government's right to have an incomes policy, but if they are going to have one, then for God's sake let's have it out in the open where we can all see it."
Brain Haulage is one of the largest privately-owned fleets in the country, and it was its Midlands depot, representing 10 per cent of the fleet, with 30 drivers, that got it into trouble with the Department of Employment and the Treasury.
Being a container base, pay negotiations began in September.
The company attempted to stay within the pay guidelines and ended up with a five-week strike on its hands that cost £50,000.
The only course left to it was to agree to certain of the men's demands, which meant going above the guidelines.
But what really angers Brain Haulage is the fact that its pay settlement in the Midlands is no different from that negotiated in most other parts of the country.
"We merely followed the settlements reached by the rest of the West Midlands hauliers, and yet they single us out — why?"