DRIVERS PUT FOOT DOWN
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TEN THOUSAND members of the Transport and General Workers Union have been laid off in Grimsby this week following a strike by 1,200 drivers over the introduction of EEC regulations — tachographs, the eight-hour and the 281-mile distance limit. The men voted unanimously to strike at a mass meeting on Sunday.
A union official commented: "This strike isn't about money — we are arguing about other countries dictating to us what we should or should not do."
He said that the introduction of the eight-hour driving day would mean more nights away from home as would the 281 miles a day distance limit.
'A catastrophe'
Union leaders have described the strike as "a catastrophe for Grimsby." By Tuesday — the second day of the action — workers in the frozen food industry employed by Findus, Birds Eye, Associated Fisheries and others had been laid off.
But as CM went to press the Road Haulage Association claimed that the strike had been caused by a misunderstanding.
"Senior officials are actively trying to resolve this dispute and once the clarification of the situation has been achieved the strike will probably be resolved," said an RHA spokesman.
Efforts were being made to end the dispute and senior officers from both the unions and the RHA were meeting to resolve the strike.
Pessimistic
The men were expected to hold another mass meeting this week to decide on further action or to go back to work. But union officials were not optimistic about an early return to work.
Spokesmen from both sides of the dispute said that they did not think that this would be the first of a series of strikes in support of defying EEC directives — but no one was prepared to rule out the possibility completely.