1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184 
A quarter more for less time
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Jennifer Ball reports on the details of AF Blakemore's new pay deal.
DRIVERS AT AF Blakemore and Son will receive a 27% pay rise next month — and their hours will fall to 48 a week.
The deal with the U nion of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) will benefit 100 drivers across two depots at Willenhall and Grimsby. They voted threeto-one in favour of the offer.which will take the hourly rate for Class 1 drivers from £6.59 to £8.25 an hour from 1 February.'The company has also agreed to increase drivers' holiday entitlement from 25 to 30 days a year.
The agreement comes ahead of the introduction of the Working Time Directive in March 2005 which will limit the number of hours a driver can spend behind the wheel.
USDAW area organiser Greg Vogiatzis says AF Blakemore deserves to be praised for taking a proactive approach to the European legislation:"This agreement brings significant benefits and improved conditions for our members." AF Blakemore's transport manager, Jason Dibble, says the agreement will reduce drivers' hours, with no significant loss of potential earnings. If work is available, drivers will also be able to work a further 10 days for extra money.
AF Blakemore delivers to more than 750 Spar stores across the UK.