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Unhappy owner-drivers say 1400 annual trips enough
Page 24
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by John Darker
MORT THAN 150 ownerdrivers employed at Ready Mixed Concrete plants in the North West attended a meeting at Warrington on Monday and expressed their dissatisfaction with the current round of negotiations to settle productivity norms and contract remuneration.
RMC companies in the area, I understand, consider that an annual work load of 1,530 trips is achievable. But the owner-drivers consider 1,400 trips represents more fairly the attainable productivity, having regard to the side effects of labour disputes, and other imponderables. Contract remuneration with 1,400 trips would merely provide for a "break-even" situation, says Mr John Cameron, the national co-ordinator of NODA, (the drivers' trade union which doubles as a trade association as necessary.) The owner-drivers decided to stay "in conference" for a total of two days this week — a genteel description for a withdrawal of labour. At the request of RMC, Mr Cameron is offering his services as a mediator.
Concrete mixer plant disruptions rapidly affect building and construction projects over a wide area and can have the effect of doubling the price of cement within a short period of time. A recent dispute at Dundee where a Blue Circle plant was shut down in a "dirty money" labour dispute damaged the morale of owner-drivers, who were idle for five weeks.