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Page 7
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slam union over time
• by Dominic Parry
The Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) appears to be heading for a clash with some of its members over its support for the Working Time Directive. This week workers from parcels giant TNT, all members of the T&G, presented a 4,000signature petition to Prime Minister Tony Blair calling for changes to the current draft directive which would allow them to opt out of the proposed maximum 48-hour week.
They presented the same petition to officials from the T&G, claiming that the union is failing to represent their views; 40 drivers then protested at Parliament in a bid to gain support from MPs.
Terry Glover, a driver from TNT's Barking depot who Organised the protest, says the union is not listening: "Their executive seem to be making all the decisions without coming to us and asking us what we think. These people sit in their top positions and don't listen to the workforce, and at the end of the day we are the union—not them."
Glover says he and his committee have written three letters to T&G general secretary Bill Morris and have yet to receive a response.
He adds: "This legislation is a disgrace. The European Parliament is abusing our basic human rights to decide the hours we wish to work to support our families. Four thousand people have
signed our petition because they don't know how they are going to meet mortgage and loan repayments when their pay is cut by 30%."
TNT driver Dave Dullaghan, who works out of the Manchester depot, says the legislation is a mess: "How can one guy at a loading bay be under one set of rules and the self-employed driver at the next bay be under a different set? It's complete nonsense."
A spokesman for the T&G says: "It is the union that has taken the initiative in setting up a working party to look at how it will be brought in. Obviously there are concerns over its implementation, but we want to see it brought in properly and believe there should be no exclusions for the selfemployed. It will combat the long-hours culture and the potential for exploitation."
However, Bert Proctor, TNT's head of employee relations, believes that in its current form the Working Time Directive will have drastic effects on the haulage industry: "I find it unbelievable that UK plc seems to be sleepwalking into legislation which will damage the environment, fuel inflation throughout the supply chain, and exacerbate the driver shortage already affecting the transport sector." TNT estimates that it will need an additional 225 drivers just to maintain its current level of business.