Drivers repeat claim
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TRANSPORT and General Workers Union regions are deciding the final details of the coming winter's haulage drivers' wage round, but are keeping their claim remarkably in line with last winter's, reports ALAN MILLAR.
The basic claim, as in 1981, is for a £100 basic rate (present rates range from £84.50 to £891, with the working week reduced towards 35 hours. The target for subsistence pay is £12 lit ranges now from £9.50 to £10.50) and additional holiday entitlement is being sought.
While there may be a greater determination on the part of the union for basic hours to be re duced, there is little optimism among negotiators about the chances of a cut from 40 to 35 hours being achieved in one step.
In the north-east of England, for instance, union sources suggest that an attempt may be made to secure a first step along the road with a claim being lodged for a one hour reduction in the working week from April next year. In the north-west a one hour reduction would also be regarded as a reasonable start.
Delegates from the north-east went to last month's commercial group conference in London with a mandate to support a claim of 10.5 per cent on their £85 basic rate, so the eventual claim in fact exceeds their expectations.
TGWU Newcastle officer George Collins told CM this week that his members would regard any settlement of less than eight per cent as a further erosion of their living standards.
In addition to seeking a £100 basic rate for Class One drivers, he is seeking a £95 rate for Class Two and £90 rate for Class Three drivers, and wants employers to concede a 10 per cent premium payment for drivers of drawbar vehicles.