URTU attacks Eurohaul
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by Rob Wiflock • A bitter row has erupted between the United Road Transport Union and Middlesbrough haulier Eurohaul after the union "went too far" in an article attacking Eurohaul's boss in its magazine Wheels.
URTU took exception to comments originally made by John Heads in a Commercial Motor news story headed "Are British drivers a waste of space?" (CM 23-29 Oct 1997), and rounded on him.
But Heads says he is "furious" and "dumbfounded" by URTU's article which branded him paranoid and prejudiced. After initially threatening union staff, he is seeking legal advice. He says many of his company's 50 employees are prepared to support him by resigning from the union.
However, URTU general secretary and Wheels editor David Higginbottom is unrepentant about the article, saying: "We didn't expect him to like it—we didn't like what he said about British drivers. He can get on with a libel action if he likes."
Higginbottom adds that he has reported Heads to the police for making death threats. Eurohaul openly employs Hungarian and Romanian drivers on international work, claiming they are more reliable than many British drivers who waste the company's money. But Heads qualifies this by adding that the company has 18 "excellent" British drivers on its books.
Eurohaul has recently secured new traction business with P&O and has bought 10 new MercedesBenz Actros tractors to service the three-year contract.