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Strike threat for 190 West Midland operators
Page 22
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THE Transport and General Workers' Union branch 5/35 claims that about 190 operators in the West Midlands face strike action on Monday morning.
These operators represent 50 per cent of those in the West Midlands, and they have refused to negotiate with the union on a request for a 50p a day lunch allowance for drivers (CM May 24).
Mr Nick Bridge, the
branch chairman, who is also the district chairman, told CM: "They have had a month to negotiate and that is surely long enough on such a simple issue." When asked about the Department of Employment's ruling that such a payment would be illegal in the terms of Phase three, Mr Bridge said: "We are looking at clause 165 which clearly states that people can be reimbursed for any expendi
ture incurred in the course of business." But, said Mr Bridge, "perhaps this is only meant to apply to managers and executives and not to drivers and office staff."
Mr Bridge admitted that the other 50 per cent of operators who had agreed to the 50p allowance were those who had been paying some kind of lunch allowance in the past. He said that the drivers who had been awarded the 50p had in some cases been receivi luncheon vouchers for mo years.
The decision to take str action is to be left individual shop stewar according to Mr Bridge, 1 he added that it seen likely that it was inevita that the action was wi spread. "We have held until June 10," he so "because some of the sen union people have been holiday."