Drivers to lose pay on Elf deal
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by Juliet Parish
• Wincanton faces a legal battle over plans to slash the pay of 23 drivers it inherits when it takes over Elf Oil's remaining in-house haulage next month.
Union officials claim the haulier will be breaking Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment regulations (TUPE) if it goes ahead with plans to force the drivers to take a £44-a-week cut in basic pay and work more hours.
Eighteen months ago the Transport & General Workers Union won out-of court settlements for 200 former BRS Tankfreight employees who lost their jobs when Wincanton took over their Texaco contract (CM 4-10 March 1993).
The TGWU, which won the undisclosed sums after proceeding with an industrial tribunal, says it will go as far again.
The union is furious that the drivers, based at Cadishead in Greater Manchester, West
Bromwich and Grays, Essex, have little negotiating time to fight for a better deal.
Elf hopes to cut costs by transferring the work to the Unigate Group subsidiary, which already supplies most of the trucks and the 65 other drivers distributing for Elf. Neither Elf nor Wincanton would comment on the implications of TUPE.
However, Wincanton claims that drivers will be able to improve their pay by taking advantage of productivity earnings.