Factory pay threatens Smiths Crisps drivers
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• Delivery drivers at Smiths Crisps face the prospect of no work because of industrial relations problems at the food manufacturer.
About 1,500 workers at the company's five factories have voted to take action if the company insists on scrapping national agreements. A meeting has been arranged since the vote for the company and the Transport and General Workers' Union to meet under the guidance of the independent arbitration service ACAS. But if no agreement can be reached the TGWU seems confident production will be disrupted or stopped completely. "They'll be driving around in a load of empty lorries in that case," says TGWU national food and drink officer Brian Revell.
Smiths Crisps run its own fleet, employing about 350 drivers. Earlier this year the Eastleigh, Hants depot closed when a Portsmouth factory was shut and the company moved to reduce capacity. Twenty drivers lost their jobs.