Hauliers hit out a Ifitish Steel
Page 4
Page 5
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
by Juliet Parish • Operators working out of one of British Steel's largest plants have attacked the company for plans to introduce a two-tier system at Teesside in which some hauliers will subcontract work to others.
British Steel has appointed four "lead" hauliers to allocate an annual 500,000-600,000 tonnes of finished and semi-finished steel between themselves and the other 12 hauliers working out of the Lackenby. Teesside works.
The giant producer says it will monitor the four leaders to ensure they share loads "fairly", but the remaining 12 say this will not happen. They claim that one of the main motives for the move is to cut down on administration costs. Between them the 16 hauliers are believed to operate some 550 trucks.
Within the next two months they will be split into four geographical groups. David Fox Transport is expected to lead the Middlesbrough group with George Allinson Transport in charge of the Darlington area, R Durham & Sons in charge of Billinghain and Middlesbrough and Prestons of Potto subsidiary Freeman Volkers & Stuart (FVS) handling the outskirts of Middlesbrough.
Most of the support hauliers fear that the lead hauliers will cherry pick the most lucrative work for themselves. And they believe that their payments could be at risk if any of the lead hauliers goes out of business owing them money.
They have other worries too: "The most alarming thing for us is that we've lost British Steel as a customer. We will no longer be able to use the blue chip name as a marketing tool to win more business," says one. Another says: "We will have no direct rates negotiating power."
Transport & General Workers Union's district officer Allan Gray is "appalled" by the scheme: "If a lead haulier has spare capacity it will give the work to itself," he predicts. "You could get a situation where a support haulier could win another contract from the lead haulier and as a result get no more British Steel work."
But British Steel stresses that it will monitor whether loads are shared; it is installing a tracking system at the four lead hauliers' sites. It claims that the "partnerships" are "broadly acceptable to the companies concerned".
The lead hauliers CM has spoken to are happy with the proposal; many of the support hauliers are grateful that they have not been dropped altogether British Steel had considered using a single haulier. (CM 18-21 March).
Each of the four groups has the option of setting up a joint venture company which British Steel would pay direct. At least one of the groups, headed by David Fox Transport, is considering this option, which will ensure that the support hauliers get paid at the same time as the leader.