Tarmac's hauliers hit by a rates cut
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• Owner-drivers working for construction and materials giant Tarmac have been hit by a 3% rates cut in the same week that the company announced eight plant closures within the next three months.
The cut affects drivers carrying concrete blocks made at five plants in the South of England.
Tarmac broke the news to the drivers on Monday (14 September), three days after revealing that two of these sites — Fleet in Hampshire and Bracknell in Berkshire — are among those marked for closure.
Tarmac claims that ownerdrivers "will not feel the full impact of the closure" as they will be reassigned to other sites. But driver John Potter, who operates from Fleet, says he is "gut ted" by the move. After the plant closes he will have to work from Ford Airfield, Arundel. "It's going to put my diesel bills up by £2-300 a month," he says, "and I'll be doing extra hours — and the road network isn't as good as up here."
Tarmac's Brian Blakely says that drivers in the South have been overpaid until now compared with those in the North, because the road system was thought to be worse. He adds: "We now realise that road systems have improved in the South of the country — plus we are having to keep a very sharp eye on costs."
Tarmac will also close plants at Nuneaton, Dumfries, Chesterfield, Avonmouth, Motherwell and Kibblesworth.