Road freight conference

T HE cycle of decline has been broken, senior assistant general secretary Mick Cash reported, but there remained a huge amount of work to be done. Initial City Link had been particularly hard to deal with, said Mick, and the poor organisation was reflected by poor pay and conditions. The group regarded the agreement with RMT as cosmetic, and where the union showed signs of effective organisation the company had become increasingly uncomfortable with it. “The more members we get the less they like it,” said Mick, noting that many CityLink franchisees persisted in simply refusing to recognise the agreement. The union was also heading towards a showdown with Freightliner, where a pay offer of three percent to most staff contrasted with more than five percent offered to train drivers. The widening pay gap was the result of privatisation, but the low-paid should not be used to subsidise bigger increases for the already better-paid, said Mick. The company had also rejected RMT’s claim for universal travel facilities. Mick noted that the union had made progress on travel facilities on London Underground and in some infracos, and that the issue was a key part of the Network Rail dispute over the two-tier workforce. It was also an issue created by privati- sation – and whose resolution could be achieved without any real cost. Mick also outlined issues in Heavy Haul, Exel Logistics, Lynx and other employers Welcoming delegates, conference president Peter Daniels also pointed to the organisational problems the section faced. In Initial CityLink, despite a national agreement with the group, some franchisees continued to evade contact with the union, and in Bradford RMT reps had even been escorted from the depot. Despite the union’s expulsion from the Labour Party, Peter said it was important to retain links and hoped that the union would soon be “back in the fold”. Outgoing secretary Maurice Hamilton also expressed his regret that one of the founders of the party should find itself outside its ranks. Outlining progress made on the motions passed by last year’s road-freight conference, executive member Andy Lister noted that Lynx Express had agreed to allow union reps time off for recruitment. Freightliner, meanwhile, had indicated that it would support a union campaign for tax exemption for travel facilities for employers employed since the April 1996 cut-off The huge potential for organisation in road freight was underlined by Roddy Keenan of the union’s organisation and recruitment department. There were 4,000 potential members in City Link alone, he noted. Department head Alan Pottage urged branches to use their management funds to recruit: “There can be no better way to spend it,” he said. Problems of organisation in the road- freight sector were also underlined by motions sent up to the RMT annual general meeting, seeking to take organisation in hand at Exel Logistics and Initial City Link. Simply identifying the Exel depots at which the union already had negotiating rights would be a step forward, noted Peter Daniels “Let us know where they are and we’ll get in there and organise them,” he said. Peter also highlighted problems at Initial City Link, citing the Bradford depot where management, determined to keep RMT out, had escorted Peter and other recruiters from the premises One Leeds member interested in becoming a union rep had found himself being scapegoated for all sorts of problems, having his round continually changed and his bonus messed up. Delegates urged the general secretary to take up with Initial City Link why some franchises still did not recognise the union. At Rotherham the organising department had been told that it would have to give three weeks’ notice of any visit, and would be allowed into the depot only on a Saturday afternoon – when it was closed. Delegates also agreed that booklets should be produced outlining existing terms and conditions in all road transport companies with which the union has negotiating rights, with updates made available on the RMT website. Jimmy Rafferty, Exeter, pointed to the problems that the implementation of the Working Time Directive was having on the earnings of drivers for whom overtime earnings had been essential to make up for low pay rates. “Some are losing as much as £10,000,” he said. Decisions at a glance G Delegates called for a push for parity of privileged travel facilities to be negotiated with all relevant companies. G The union should seek to negotiate with Freightliner that road motor drivers be paid RMT news – R oad freight conference Organisation the ke Organisation remains the key to tackling the problems faced by the union’s road haulage section, delegates at its annual conference agreed Platform: AGS Mick Cash shares a platform with Pete Daniels and Maurice Hamilton 18 for their meal breaks. G Pay and conditions should be standardised across all Initial City Link depots G The union should also seek to ensure that all City Link vans are equipped with barrows G The union should seek to remove the requirement that part-time staff at Lynx Express Parcels work up to two hours overtime a day without notice – a requirement already dropped for full-time staff. G The union should negotiate a revised day, afternoon and night shift scheme with Lynx Express Parcels G The General Grades Committee should negotiate with Lynx Express Parcels to install an RMT rep as a director of the company’s pension plan trustee company. G Bereavement leave of a minimum of four days on the death of a mother or father should be negotiated with all relevant companies. G Delegates expressed disappointment with the speed with which the union was moving to use of new technology in distributing circulars and updates, and the inability of branch secretariess and reps to download information G Next year’s road freight conference will take place in Exeter, and the 2006 conference in Gloucester RMT news – R oad freight conference ey for road-freight Trevor Howard Conference president Pete Daniels Edwards Duthie Solicitors has a special affinity with trade unions, their members and officials. 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