Stobart jobs dispute escalates as political pressure increases
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By Chris Druce THE STOBART Doncaster jobs dispute was set to come to a head as CM went to press, with indefinite strike action kicking off today (6 December) and Labour leader Ed Miliband (right) now tracking the situation.
Unite announced its 180 members would be starting a third period of strike action after they rejected an improved redundancy offer from Eddie Stobart last week following talks at Acas.
While Unite maintains that it is willing to return to the negotiating .g table, the situation has become increasingly acrimonious, with the rfe' a union describing the offer as unsatT isfactory, while the operator said Unite was too quick to man the barricades rather than hold meaningful talks. Unite also promised a rally and march through Doncaster this weekend to show Stobart and Tesco there is "a better way".
Tesco, which still runs the DC's warehousing but outsourced the transport operation to Eddie Stobart in August, is coming under increasing political pressure.
A spokesman for Miliband, ATP for Doncaster North, told CM that he had held talks with Tesco last week to discuss the situation.
Although no further comment was made, Tesco, which has hitherto remained silent about the dispute, issued a statement last week expressing its disappointment that the drivers had not accepted the improved redundancy package.
Eddie Stobart MD David Pickering said: "We've worked hard over the past weeks with Unite to come up with the best possible financial package for the drivers. I'm sure they will feel let down by their representation from Unite."
With the 90-day consultation period over, Stobart could now serve the workers with notification of termination of their roles. It already intends to meet the DC's transport needs from its wider network, although Unite has argued it will struggle to do so during the current retail peak.