Co-op drivers strike called off

A planned two-day strike action of more than 700 Co-op drivers has been suspended in order to enter into meaningful talks with management under the auspices of the conciliation service Acas. The accompanying work to rule action has also been suspended.

The 48-hour strike action was due to start on Monday (March 21) over a dispute that centred on the decision by the Co-op group to transfer 87 Coventry-based drivers to controversial haulier Eddie Stobart Ltd.

This sparked the overwhelming vote for strike action by drivers across the UK concerned about the implications of future outsourcing of their jobs on pay and employment conditions.

 
The majority of the Coventry drivers are considering taking a severance package offered by the management as they are disgusted at the way they have been treated by the ‘ethical’ Co-op and fearful at the treatment they would receive if they were TUPE’d [Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)] to ESL.

 
In 2012, Unite was embroiled in a long-running dispute when Tesco in Doncaster TUPE’d 184 workers to ESL. The drivers were then issued with a termination of employment notice with no prospect of re-employment. Many of those drivers are still out of work.

 
Unite will hold talks with the Co-op management today (March 18). Unite wants the talks to investigate the comprehensive list of suggestions by the Coventry shop stewards to increase efficiency and reduce costs.

 
“Our Coventry members are caught between a rock and a hard place,” said Unite national officer for retail distribution Adrian Jones.

 
“They are angry that the so-called ethical Co-op has betrayed their years of dedicated service, but have no wish to work for ESL, an employer that has a very poor reputation in the way it treats its staff,” he added. “They are prepared to wash their hands of both these two tainted organisations, unless other options can be agreed.

The Co-op driver members who had planned to take strike action are based at Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland; Castlewood, north Derbyshire; Chester-Le-Street, County Durham; Coventry; Inverness; Newhouse, Lanarkshire; Plymouth and Thurrock in Essex.

 
Unite is also mounting a legal challenge to elements of the Co-op’s severance package as an attack on workers’ rights. The Co-op bosses are demanding that no driver will be able to re-apply for a role with the Co-op until October 2, 2016 and if they take strike action the severance offer will be immediately withdrawn.

 
“These macho-management tactics are not the way to deal with this dispute,” Jones noted. “Throwing money at the problem for it to go away does not address the crux of the dispute – that our members don’t want to be transferred to employers with ESL’s controversial reputation.”