TGWU: unhappy eaters • Unless the Transport and General Workers
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Union sees a marked improvement in the number and quality of Britain's truckstops by the middle of next month, the union plans to tell its 1.5 million members to boycott Little Chefs, other Trusthouse Forte establishments and Happy Eaters.
According to Dennis Mills, the TGWU executive member for the Midlands and a key figure in the union's campaign to improve facilities for its truck driver members around the country: "We will ask our members to boycott these establishments whether they are at work or on holiday."
The South Mimms service station on the M25 orbital motorway around London could also be a target for TGWU action: "We're disgusted that there are no proper facilities for truck drivers there," says Mills. "It is more than likely that we will be calling upon all our drivers not to deliver to places like South Mimms which discriminate against colleagues in the union."
Petrol, diesel, food and drink are all delivered to sites like South Mimms by truck. If the TGWU were to ban all deliveries to these sites, the union believes that it could severely affect their trading situation.
"We will be holding a conference in the Midlands early in the new year to discuss whether there has been any action as a result of our cam paign," says Mills. The TGWU has written to its 33 sponsored MPs, says Mills, asking them to oppose any planning permission proposals they come across for developments alongside trunk roads or primary routes which do not have facilities for lorry drivers: "It is up to the Government to make sure drivers always have somewhere to rest, get a cup of tea and have a wash and brush up."
Nothing has changed at South Mimms since Commer.ial Motor visited the site two months ago in a Leyland Daf 1900 Series 16-tonner and was barred from entering the site by a uniformed security guard (CM 10-16 September).
Trusthouse Forte denies that there have been any protests at the South Mimms site by angry truck drivers, though it is understood that some drivers have disobeyed the security guard's request not to park in the large coach park. BP, which operates the fuelling facilities at South Mimms, says that it is involved in "tripartite discussions" on the future of the derelict truckstop site close to South Mimms.