Paul Travers, a Unite regional officer, said the dispute had been “pockmarked by very poor employment relations” with the company. The dispute centres on the firm paying a temporary £5 an hour uplift for about 40 drivers at its Hemel Hempstead depot in response to staff shortages – a move not replicated less than 50 miles away at Thamesmead. Unite, the trade union representing both sets of workers, said the disputes reflected issues with working conditions and pay.Īt Booker, the union is poised to issue the employer with notice for strike action but wants to allow time for crunch talks with company bosses later this month that could still avert industrial action. The threat of strike action comes as severe shortages of workers and raw materials trigger widespread disruption across the British economy, in a crisis caused by the fallout from Covid, Brexit and years of underinvestment. The drivers supply several key construction projects across the UK, including the Hinkley Point nuclear power station, the HS2 rail line, the Sellafield nuclear decommissioning plant and the Thames Tideway super sewer project. Meanwhile, more than 200 lorry drivers and engineers employed by Hanson, on the Castle Cement contract, will hold a ballot for strike action after rejecting a pay offer, raising the threat of further disruption in the construction sector. About 40 drivers employed by Booker at its Thamesmead site in south-east London have voted unanimously for strike action in a dispute over pay – a move that risks severe disruption to deliveries at more than 1,500 small shops operating under the Londis and Budgens brands across the capital and the south-east.
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