A dispute involving drivers employed by Tesco-owned Booker at its Thamesmead site has flared up again with a two-day strike, including Christmas Eve, now threatening to hit deliveries to 1,500 convenience stores in London and the south east.
The Unite union has accused the wholesaler’s management of “bad faith” for reneging on an agreement that the drivers’ pay would be reviewed in February 2022 after they voted to accept a 3.3% pay increase in October.
The 45-strong workforce is now planning to strike from 00:01 on 23 December until 24.00 on Christmas Eve, which is expected to impact deliveries to stores including Budgens, Londis, Premier, One Stop, and many petrol stations.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham commented: “This is an act of bad faith by the Booker bosses. They promised a further review of pay rates to take place in February. They have now broken that agreement and thus have provoked the Christmas strike action.”
The dispute hit the headlines during the summer when Booker put in place a temporary £5 an hour pay uplift for drivers at its Hemel Hempstead depot because of the HGV driver shortage. However, the company then refused to implement a similar uplift for the drivers at the Thamesmead site.
Amid the threat of strike action, further negotiations led to new pay proposals, which at the time were kept confidential.
Unite regional officer Paul Travers said today: “When we agreed to suspend strike action in October, it was on the understanding that a review of drivers’ pay and employment conditions would take place in February and that Unite would be fully involved. However, the company has now scrapped the review and will uplift the drivers’ money by £2 per hour, which is completely unacceptable.
“This is a unilateral decision and, as a result, our members are angry that the money being proposed falls well short of what they deserve, now that the current RPI rate of inflation is six per cent.”
Earlier this week, Unite suspended pre-Christmas strike action at four of Tesco’s distribution centres after the supermarket group made an improved pay offer.
NAM Implications:
- A pointer for other parts of Booker, Tesco and their rivals…
- Watch this space.
- Meanwhile, anticipate Booker’s convenience retailers attempting to make alternative arrangements for Christmas deliveries.
