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Drivers head for strike action after salary 'cut'
Page 5
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• by Dominic Perry
Drivers at Bibby Distribution's Bicester depot could be heading for strike action after being awarded a 2.5% pay rise— which they claim is a salary cut in real terms.
The drivers, on contract to a major US drinks manufacturer, say they feel insulted by the nonnegotiable pay offer: 'With the changes in National Insurance and inflation we are worse off than we were last year, which is a crazy situation to be in," claims one.
He adds: "People can't afford to work for that sort of money and they [Bibby] just don't seem to care."
However, Bibby responds that the rise is part of an agreed three-year deal and says it has
also offered another 2.5% on top of that, something that the many drivers who spoke to Commercial Motor say they are still in the dark about.
Now members of the United Road Transport Union (URTU) are to be balloted over industrial action because of the pay situation.
Drivers also say they are unhappy about new working practices that will see them drying on weekends thanks to the new system of 'annualised hours'.
One driver, who asked to remain anonymous, has said that drivers at the depot are frequen% made to feel like 'glorified taxi drivers".
Bibby says the culture at the depot is "positive and progres
sive" but another driver adds: "It's certainly not a happy workforce—there's a lot that would walk out of the gate if they had to."
Additionally the company is refusing to recognise URTU at Bicester. Regional officer Tony Southam says that on two occasions he was promised verbally that the union would be recognised at the Bicester depot.
However, the company has never put this in writing despite repeated requests.
The company says that URTU has never proved that it has sufficient members at Bicester, but Southam says that he went through the personnel records with depot managers to prove his case.