Waiting for Scotland
Page 3
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EE more areas have reached single-figure wage settlements, the industry was holding back from jubilation as we closed for as on Monday, in case Scottish talks once again threw a spanner r the works.
oth sides of the Scottish It Industrial Council were sting on Monday afternoon ight of drivers' earlier rejeci of a new top-weight basic
of £85.98 for a 40-hour 3k. Last year, a Scottish Jement of £83 upset progress rards a national norm of £80 :81.
rivers on North Humberside week accepted an increase aasic pay from £81 to £86,
a 6.2 per cent pro rata inse for drivers of smaller than -weight vehicles, and for an .ease in overnight subsisae from £9 to £10.
hey have also accepted a £10 late payment to compensate the anniversary date being ved from December 15 to uary 1, and will also benefit n an increase in the guarsed week from 42 to 45 irs. A TGWU spokesman said latter measure helped local fists who do not qualify for er bonuses.
Kent a deal giving topght drivers a 6.5 per cent inse in top-weight basic has
n signed. This goes up from to £85.20, and subsistence is from £9.50 to £10. A working ty is to investigate the scope improvements in sick pay I accident benefits.
rivers have also ratified the t Midlands deal (CM January Nhich is a seven per cent inse across the board, with -weight basic going up from agreed £81 starting figure to .60. Subsistence is up from ?5 to £10.
s in Kent, a working party is ig set up, in this case to 3stigate the possibility of a reduced working week, the introduction of a Continental subsistence payment, the fitment of rear foglights to all vehicles, the fitment of fire extinguishers and first-aid kits, and the issue of safety footwear and clothing.
There is less accord, still, in North-east England where drivers last weekend rejected Tyneside, Hexham, and Sunderland employers' offer of a 5.6 per cent increase in basic pay from £80 to £84.50, with non-hgv drivers being offered 5.5 per cent. They offered to raise subsistence payments by 75p to £9.75.
Representatives of the Transport and General Workers Union, General and Municipal Workers Union, and the United Road Transport Union, all of whom attended the meeting with the employers last week, recommended acceptance of the offer as the best which could be achieved.
But at votes last Sunday it was rejected, partly because of the apparent effects of the Chancellor's mini-Budget, but also, according to TGWU officer Geoff Egglestone, because some hauliers in the area have already offered their drivers basic rates of £108 for a 40-hour week with productivity payments which take their wages to £180 to £200.
Mr Egglestone told CM that he would ask the employers for another meeting to discuss the latest impasse, and would be prepared to use the services of the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service.
While some drivers favour a strike to force the issue, Mr Egglestone said this might play into the employers' hands, and suggested that strict adherence to tachograph regulations and the eight-hour driving day might have a better effect for his members.
Teesside employers and trades union representatives were due to meet yesterday (Friday). The employers have already offered a £2 increase in basic pay, and TGWU officer John Yates said this week that they would need to offer more than the Tyneside employers before his members would be satisfied.
South Wales employers have offered drivers a quantum leap in basic pay, from their bottom of-the-league £78.28 level to £85, with subsistence going up from £8.75 to £9.25, and holiday pay by £5. The TGWU has recommended industrial action in support of a higher claim, but a meeting scheduled for last weekend was cancelled as a result of the Siberian weather conditions which crippled South Wales.
North-west England employers have made a 6.17 per cent final offer, which would take basic pay up to £86, with £10.25 subsistence, and were planning to make an identical offer to the URTU on Tuesday this week.
Eastern and Southern England drivers have still to make further moves on stalled wage negotiations on those areas, and Sheffield drivers have still to lodge a pay claim.