HUGE BASIC PAY RISE FOR TANKER DRIVERS
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LY formal signing of the agreements
was needed this week to complete the revolutionary pay and productivity deals affecting nearly 10,000 tanker drivers and depot workers employed by some of Britain's biggest oil companies. As previously reported in COMMERCIAL MOTOR they will raise basic pay by no less than 50 per cent and give drivers a slightly higher pay packet for working a 40-hour week than they do at present for working 52 hours.
Payments under the first phase of the agreement will be back-dated to November 29 last and the second stage will be introduced on February 7. Two further phases will follow. The pact will progressively reduce the need for overtime, increase the amount of shift working and introduce greater flexibility between different groups of workers. Basic pay for a top-grade driver will go up from around £14 at present for a 41-hour week to £21 for 40 hours and there will also be enhanced payments for shift work.
Among the firms which have made agreements with the Transport and General Workers' Union are Esso, Shell-Mex and BP and Petrofina. Agreement has not been easy to reach and in most cases negotiations have been in progress for more than two years.