Unions are warned of pay rise job threat
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• A leading official of the Road Haulage Association has warned transport unions that pay claims of over 5% could put up to 10,000 drivers' jobs at risk because hauliers' margins are so tight.
Rod Jenkins, the RHA's manager of employment affairs, describes the hauliers' situation as "desperate", adding that the Transport and General Workers Union claim for 12.6%, based on inflation plus 2%, shows just how far apart the employers and unions are, But the TGWU has hit back, dismissing the RHA comments as "part of the normal process of negotiation".
"We see no case for our members accepting a cut in real wages, which is what 5% would represent," says the TGWU. "Responsibility for inflation lies with the Government — our responsibility is to secure a real wage increase for our members, and the only way we can do that is by securing a plus-inflation rise."
It is understood that dates have not yet been set for the Joint Industrial Committees to meet, for RHA districts and local TGWU officials to attempt to set benchmark rates. Rates set in the larger districts become models for negotiations in smaller areas.
The joint committees normally meet during September and October and the delay could indicate how far apart the two sides are.