Roadline escalation?
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THE BUBBLING discontent in the National Freight Consortium's loss-making parcels group reached new ferment this week when NFC chairman Sir Peter Thompson returned from holiday to find a letter of protest from Roadline UK shop stewards.
A new row, which follows protests at the NFC annual general meeting in February (CM, March 3), has been hotted up by the letter from the Roadline Shop Stewards Liaison Committee, and signed by representatives from Canterbury, Bradford, and the City of London.
They blame problems at Roadline on its management, saying its "two-pronged policy of aggression towards the staff and wishful thinking in respect of their commercial and operational activities are unacceptable on one hand and doomed to financial failure on the other."
They are concerned that a revised next-day delivery service started last week, which offers delivery by 1pm, is unworkable, and claim that management told shop stewards eventually that it was only a marketing gimmick which it accepted would not be achieved anyway.
"It will obviously be another failure and no doubt they will seek to blame the collection and delivery drivers. This is just the latest in a long line of plans which are not managed, organised or resourced to make them successful," they told Sir Peter.
They said they found it difficult to reconcile their perception of life at Roadline with Sir Peter's oft-repeated vision of a successful partnership at NEC, and have criticised Roadline's policy towards sick employees.
Roadline said this week that the letter had not come through recognised channels of communication with its workforce, and was unlikely to be treated seriously.