No wage deals yet
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I/ As 1986 draws to a close, wage claims are running at higher levels than last year. So far, 13 area wage claims have been submitted to the Road Haulage Association, as the employers' representative on joint industrial councils.
Nine areas, however, have still to send in their claims, although this year, for the first time in three years, the United Road Transport Union is hoping to get an official wage agreement with the RHA sorted out in the NorthWest.
Scotland, Southern, East Midlands and West Midlands areas currently top the league with their 28-a-week claims. Last week, however, the Scottish branch of the TGWU recommended to drivers that they accept a 4.6% increase on basic wage rates and this is seen as leading the way for settlements in the other regions.
TGWU national secretary Jack Ashwell says that a number of local meetings have still to be held and that it is too soon to predict any trend. -It would be risky to assume that drivers will settle for 5%, it all depends on the overall response to each proposal."
If agreed, the Scottish recommendation will increase the 32-tonne rate to £114.54 and the 38-tonne rate to £116.63. It will also put 3% on the overnight subsistence allowance, bringing it up to £12.55p.
On average, drivers are asking for an across-the-board increase of just over 7%. Last year the average wage increase was around 5.8%, with inflation at the time running at under 3%.
All areas have included claims for better HGV licence loss compensation payments, sickness and accident allowances. They are also asking for between £1 and £2 on the overnight subsistence allowance and a reduction in the working week, usually from 40 to 39 hours but in some cases down to 35 hours.
Generally, the claims seem moderate compared with some previous years.