Esso drivers win a £33,000 pay deal
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• Tanker drivers at Esso have agreed to give up collective bargaining in return for an increase in wages to as much as £33,000 a year.
The drivers have agreed to personal contracts amid accusations from union sources that its members were persuaded to give up collective bargaining rights at a series of meetings in which the company spoke to them individually.
A TGWU officer says shop stewards at Esso are among those who have signed the contracts.
Esso denies putting any pressure on the drivers; it claims the new rates are little different from those the TGWU might have negotiated this autumn. "The deal was not done in secrecy," says an Esso spokesman, "but Esso does speak to its staff individually about employment contracts."
The deal, which affects about 300 drivers, includes basic wages of £19,562 for a 37.5 hour week. Extras, including shift allowances, meal break money and London weighting, could push that figure up to £32,875.
Esso says the deal includes flexibility on shift patterns and an agreement from the drivers to deliver at unattended petrol stations, which will allow late night deliveries.
Last autumn Esso tanker drivers won a 12.6% increase during negotiations conducted by the TGWU (CM 22-28 Nov).
BP says it has no plans to end collective bargaining and is engaged in wage talks with the TGWU. Wincanton, which delivers for Texaco, was "not prepared to speculate".