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Drivers uneasy over Boardall hours deal
Page 9
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• by Sally Nash Borough brid ge-based Reed Boardall Transport has introduced a new pay and conditions package, but drivers claim that management has failed to inform them properly of the changes.
Drivers contacted CM to express their concern about the shake-up which takes effect from this week. Initially they were worried that management wanted to cut holidays from four weeks a year to just two and that they would be out of pocket because of the decision to make them work an extra five hours—extending the week to 45 hours—before they start earning overtime.
But Reed Boardall Transport managing director Tom Cassells firmly denies the claims about holiday, arguing that a throwaway comment at a drivers' representative meeting may have led to the drivers' fears.
"This is all untrue," says Cassells. "F may have mentioned at one meeting that we wanted to focus less on holiday pay and mom on standard, overtime and Sunday hours but this has been blown out of all proportion."
And he insists that drivers will be better off in an average week because of the introduction of a guaranteed 45-hour week for the first time, with a higher overtime rate than before.
"A majority of drivers said yes to the change although the vote was fairly close," says Cassells. "I know that one or two drivers have been upset by the move from 40 to 45 hours but what they seem to forget is that this is a guaranteed 45 hours."
One driver who had been annoyed by the proposals argued that the company had failed to communicate its intentions effectively.
"I really didn't know about the guaranteed hours. Nobody has explained this properly. It seems that there has been a lot of Chinese whispers going on."
The driver said that he would not know how much money he would be getting under the new system until tomorrow (2 May).