Under the microscope

The poor work practices of global logistics giant XPO, which has a large presence in the UK, came under the spotlight at a press conference in Paris today (April 16).

Unite national officer for road transport Matt Draper was at the press conference at 4pm (Paris time) as XPO workers and union activists from Belgium, France, Spain, the UK and USA unveil further evidence of worker abuses at the company.

The action is part of an ongoing global campaign against XPO Logistics, which is under fire for accusations of sexual harassment, dangerous working conditions, a death at a XPO site, gender pay discrimination, exploitative employment arrangements and anti-union activity.

In the UK, XPO’s gender pay gap report revealed female workers in its transport business earn on average 14 per cent less per hour than men.

“Unite is deeply concerned at the hypocrisy of XPO which engages with Unite in the UK through its collective bargaining arrangements,” said Unite national officer for road transport Matt Draper.

“Unite will respond should the tactics and strategies employed in the US, where the company operates a union avoidance tactical approach, be replicated in the UK,” he added.

“We have just completed a long hard fought battle in the UK to achieve a reasonable pay award for our members.

“At the beginning of the discussions, XPO wanted to make changes to terms and conditions which were detrimental to our members, however this was strongly resisted by the solidarity and dedication of our members.

“This is why we are on high alert regarding XPO due to its terrible treatment of workers in the US.”

The deal that Unite hammered out for its members was three per cent for 2017 and 2.75 per cent for this year,  with an additional lump sum of 0.25 per cent to be paid in December 2018. More cash may be gained through a yet-to-be agreed incentive scheme.

The sites benefiting from the pay package include Aylesford (Kent), Brownhills (West Midlands), Bury St Edmunds, Crick (Northants), Darlington, Gloucester, Hounslow, Leigh (Greater Manchester), Luton, Motherwell, Rochester, Stoke on Trent, Taunton and Wakefield.

Unite has about 500 members at these sites out of a total of the 1,100 workers covered by the national bargaining agreement. Unite members overwhelmingly voted to accept the deal.

Pic by Transport Pixels