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Unions poised for final salary coup
Page 6
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Tanker drivers' representatives are expecting a breakthrough in the fight for final-salary pensions — Guy Sheppard reports.
UNION LEADERS are set to score their first success in a campaign to win better pensions for tanker drivers in the oil industry.
The three contractors whojointly deliver fuel for Shell are expected to agree to give all 500 drivers finalsalary pensions, despite an industry-wide trend towards scrapping them on the grounds of cost. Only 140 of the drivers employed by Hoyer UK. .11V Sucking and Stiller Transport are currently on final-salary schemes. The rest are mostly signed up for money-purchase pension schemes which are dependent on stock market performance.
Ron Webb, national secretary for road transport in the Transport & General Workers Union, says the agreement, which includes a 4.5% increase in the basic hourly rate of £12/hr, will have repercussions throughout haulage: "It clearly demonstrates that the agenda for tanker drivers and lorry drivers generally is moving forward.
"Other contractors who want to remain competitive in the labour market will be under immense pressure to improve pen sions as well."
The negotiations are the first test of the T&G campaign, launched in October 2003, to improve the lot of more than 2,000 oil tanker drivers; better pensions are seen as the top priority (CM 30 October).
In December the drivers voted for strike action in support of the pension claim. Webb believes logistics companies, such as Wincanton, which lost the Shell contract three months ago. will be forced to rethink their approach to pensions.Wmcanton scrapped its final salary scheme for new recruits last April.
But Charles Carr, Wincanton's corporate communications director, says there are sound reasons for the change: "The Chancellor has increased taxation on pension funds, people are living longer and funds have to pay out more. But the performance of pension funds has been declining."