Drivers picket Liverpool cold store as meat haulier closes
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MEAT deliveries in Liverpool were again at a standstill this week as 41 lorry drivers picketed the city's cold store depots in what is understood to be an attempt to secure the re-opening of a local haulage Company.
Following a nine week long pay dispute, some 280 drivers from six haulage firms decided to return to work on Monday after taking the dispute to arbitration. However, 41 drivers who lost their jobs when Bootle haulage company Wilson and Duke Ltd, — a subsidiary of the Transport Development Group was forced to cease operations during the strike announced that they were still in a state of dispute and commenced picketing cold store depots.
Mr W. B. Hill, Managing Director of Wilson Duke, :old CM on Monday that the :ompany was officially ;lased on July 5 and that the frivers' strike was one of the :ontributory factors. Asked f he felt whether there was my possibility that the firm would be re-opened Mr Hill -eplied: "It will be a miracle f it does."
Area official of the Transport and General Workers Union in Liverpool, Mr Bob Robinson, said that meetings would be held between representatives of the drivers and Wilson Duke. Until such meetings were held, he said, it was difficult to say what the outcome would he Mr Robinson went on to outline the award made at the arbitration last week. The drivers were awarded a 50hour guaranteed week and a subsistence rate of £3.75 a night. An undertaking was also made that before the end of 1974 the Liverpool Meat Functional Group and the TGWU should formulate an acceptable sick pay scheme.
Another company that was badly .affected by thei dispute was Fairfield Haulage Co Ltd. Mr Len Redmond, transport manager, said that the company had had to cut its fleet from 26 to 16 vehicles and to reduce its drivers from 37 to 20. One of the reasons for this was finance and the company would have to find redundancy pay for the affected drivers, he said. Mr Redmond went on to say that no frozen meat was being moved in Liverpool.