TNT uav deal
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• TNT has agreed to a £6-aweek pay rise for all its employees, but has ended the blanket union deal in favour of separate agreements covering its parcels, contract distribution and newsPaper distribution divisions.
The £6 flat rate increase covers employees including drivers, warehouse staff and clerical workers. Until now TNT's 5,400 employees had their pay and conditions covered by one agreement. The new agreements with the Transport and General Workers' Union recognise different pay scales and shift patterns in the three sectors.
TNT Express, TNT Newsfast and TNT Contract Distribution will set up negotiation committees with the TGWU, to be known as divisional councils.
"Pay rates don't vary very much in the parcels sector," says George Lawson, TNT's head of human resources, "but it's massively different in contract distribution, depending on the type of job and whether it is national or regional."
John Moore, national road transport secretary for the TGWU, says the new agreements are "very good". Other union sources describe the deal as a reconciliation after a period in which relationships between TNT and the TGWU became icy after a strike at a parcels depot in Cannock which led to the dismissal of 120 staff.
In February an industrial tribunal awarded a total of £80,000 to 13 of the strikers who claimed they had been unfairly dismissed — but, as reported in CM last week, TNT is appealing against the award.
However, one TGWU officer says the new agreements prove a deep commitment by TNT to the trade unions and the flat rate increase gives a boost to lower paid employees. Last year TNT agreed to reduce its working week from 40 to 39 hours.