Stress levels are rising
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III A union official who returned to the haulage industry after a 12-year absence says the attitude of employers has worsened to such an extent that he dealt with as many Industrial Tribunal applications in 12 days as he did in his first 12 years.
Mike Billingham of the United Road Transport Union, back in his old job as a regional officer, says he is surprised at the "stone-wall" attitude of employers who refuse to talk to a union or their own employees.
He adds that the most noticeable change in the industry is the "stress and strain etched on the faces of drivers throughout the industry who have had to suffer the relentless pressures imposed by non-caring employers, customers, enforcement agencies, the general public and even so-called colleagues".
His tribunal cases include a driver sacked for stopping the night at a truckstop instead of running the remaining 15 minutes of his maximum permissible time and spending the night in a lay-by; and a driver sacked because he refused to work the next day (a bank holiday) after working three 15-hour days and two 13-hour days.