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Safeway drivers feel the heat
Page 7
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TWO DRIVERS WORKING for logistics firm TDG on contract to Safeway say they have been sus pended for refusing to drive converted natural gas ( CNG) trucks because of fears of overheating.
The allegations come 12 months after Scania bowed to pressure from drivers at Safeway's Aylesford depot and took the 3-Series CNG trucks off the road for exactly the same problem (CM 30 October 2003).
However, a spokesman for the supermarket says it is not aware of any problems.
Driver Alan Wyatt says he had to face a disciplinary hearing at the Welwyn Garden City depot and even received a written warning after refusing to drive a CNG truck because his cab got so hot he thought he would fall asleep and cause an accident.
"The heating inside is a joke," he says. "Everyone knows they get hot.1 don't get them as much as the others now because I kicked up a fuss. They haven't thought about the drivers at all."
Wyatt has the backing of his union, USDAW, which is putting pressure on the depot to take the complaints seriously.
Another driver, Shayden Williams, says he was also suspended for refusing to drive the gas vehicles: "They removed the heat shield. It creates an oven effect. I refuse to drive them until the heat shield is re-fitted. It's unreasonable to drive in vehicles that get as hot as 97° Fahrenheit."
Scania declined to comment on the allegations, but a spokesman for Morrisons, which owns Safeway, says: "While we are making the most of improvements in technology to upgrade our CNG fleet, the work we are undertaking has nothing to do with heat shields."