Exel staff go to ballot
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by Karen Miles • Five thousand distribution workers at Exel Logistics are to be balloted for industrial action in a dispute which has the Transport and General Workers Union accusing NFC's top directors of acting like "fat cats".
Tomorrow's union meeting (24 July) will determine whether members will be balloted for strike or alternative industrial action in pursuit of their wage claim.
Warehouse workers and drivers in England and Wales have rejected the company's offer of a 3.5% increase. The claim includes an increase for Class 1 HGV drivers from £4.39 to £5 an hour.
T&G national secretary Danny Bryan says many members are angry over "fat cat" behaviour by some members of the NFC board. He says the staff, who were transferred when BRS merged with Exel, voted to reject the company's offer as NFC decided to hand back £300m to its shareholders.
Bryan says: "The NFC balance sheet shows there is a real distinction between how they pay themselves and the way they treat their employees."
Chief executive Gerry Murphy earned £541,000 in 1997, compared with £501,000 in 1996.
Exel declines to comment on the negotiations, saying it would "not be appropriate", but adds: "The overall remuneration package of the current board of directors increased by 2.2% which is within the range of the increases offered to employees."