Morrisons tal Ks
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lead to peace
THE TRANSPORT unions have settled their dispute with the Morrisons supermarket chain.
The company has signed a national joint bargaining agreement with the GMB and T&G unions, whose members had balloted for strike action over its refusal to discuss integration plans.
A separate deal includes biannual meetings with thirdparty contractors such as Christian Salvesen and Wincanton.
Jude Brimble, national officer for the GM B says Morrisons' delay in accepting the unions' right to be involved has been expensive for the company: "They have paid £2.5m for the privilege of talking to us. That's an extra £1,000 on the table as an enhanced redundancy package for every member whose job is threatened."
The company argues that new depots near Kettering have led to over-capacity in its distribution network. A spokesman says: "The company will now progress matters relevant to the reshaping of our distribution network to provide an efficient and cost-effective service to our stores."
The unions hope that the "distribution council" meetings with contractors will help to prevent future disputes such as that at Bellshill IRDC (CM8 September).
This week, 170 drivers there were due to withdraw a threat of industrial action over new rotas and shift patterns more than 90% voted for action.
The site is run for Morrisons by Christian Salvesen .