Tesco lorry drivers go on strike
Tesco sign
Drivers at the Livingston depot will strike for three days
Up to 150 Tesco lorry drivers have begun a strike after refusing to sign up to new working terms and conditions.The dispute came after the supermarket chain revealed plans to move its depot in Livingston, West Lothian, to a new site nearby.
Local MP Jim Devine has called for a one-day boycott of Tesco for threatening to sack drivers who refuse to sign the new contract.
A Tesco spokesman said the chain “strongly refuted” Mr Devine’s claims.
The drivers, all members of the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G), are taking part in a strike which is due to last from Thursday until Saturday.
Tesco vehicles were having to turn around at the warehouse as workers formed a picket line, according to union members.
The T&G claims the new contracts, brought in with the move to the new site, mean losses to the drivers of between £3,000 and £6,000 and the de-recognition of the union.
Tesco is behaving in a truly draconian fashion which puts one in mind of the behaviour of 19th Century pit-owners
Jim Devine MPTesco strongly refuted claims that the drivers would lose any earnings under the new conditions.
The T&G, now part of the Unite union, said drivers voted by 126 to six to strike.
Ron Webb, the T&G’s national transport secretary, said: "We said we’d fight back against the way our members were being treated and that fight has begun.
“We are determined to expose this company for the arrogant way it has treated its staff, our members, and the union itself.”
He said Tesco had stepped up security in the area.
Mr Devine, the MP for Livingston, said: “It is my opinion that Tesco is behaving in a truly draconian fashion which puts one in mind of the behaviour of 19th Century pit-owners.”
He added: “I am asking people to consider the position of these drivers, search their conscience and consider a boycott of all Tesco outlets this Friday.”
New terms
Mr Devine and Falkirk East MP Michael Connarty have written to Tesco demanding an urgent meeting with management.
A Tesco spokesman rejected Mr Devine’s allegations. He said no drivers were losing their jobs and that new jobs were being created.
Laurie McIlwee, distribution director for Tesco, said 450 of the 600 workers moving from the existing Livingston warehouse to the new one had signed up to the new terms and conditions.
Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme, he said: "There are none of our existing drivers who, when they move from the old contract to the new contract, will have any change in contractual pay.
“We absolutely guarantee that for the lifetime that they work at Tesco.”
Mr McIlwee said there had been a lot of miscommunication over the new conditions.
Quite amazing the difference between Tesco’s statement and what you hear on the radio & see in the press up here.
If the deal that they are offering is so fantastic then why are they having to “sack” 83 out of their 150 drivers that are refusing to take the contract, even with Tesco threatening to “sack” them if they won’t accept it.
There was even a statement from Tesco earlier today saying that they hadn’t sacked anyone - guess that they are either lying or using the excuse of redundancy because the drivers “don’t want to work at the new depot” which is all of 500 yards away from the old one.
Before this kicked off I had asked for an application form for Tesco - although after hearing one of the new drivers on the radio today I won’t be returning it. All the new guys have been told that they have to work through the strike or get the boot as well. Sure that will make for a great working environment when the strikers return to work.
G
They can strike all they like. Tescos could service every store they need to with subbys from other RDC’s and fill the depot with agency labour within a week.
If they strike an picket i hope they do it properly.
bloody hell…i have been at Stobarts doing Tesco work from Middlewich.
Dont sound good for the Tersco drivers with managment threatening their jobs
I doubt it is as clear cut as this. They cannot sack any driver for refusing to accept a new contract as TUPE would apply (well not specifically TUPE) but there are laws against this.
If Tesco are cutting their driver’s salaries by between £3k and £6k a year, then it’s not on.
Tesco, made £2.5 billion in profit last year.
They should be raising the driver’s salaries by £3k to £6k a year.
gsm31:
If Tesco are cutting their driver’s salaries by between £3k and £6k a year, then it’s not on.
Tesco, made £2.5 billion in profit last year.
They should be raising the driver’s salaries by £3k to £6k a year.
Thats how they make their big profits, screwing everybody. Employees, suppliers and customers.
Not so much ‘squeezing every penny’ as ringing it’s neck and putting it in a vice.
i thought under the tupe regulations they had to offer your new contract three times for you to accept and sign
If after three offers you still don’t sign you have no contract with the firm
1 no contract
2 no work
3 no rights ( see No 1 )
if you have no contact with the firm how can they sack you . you don’t work for them ( see No 1 )
this was another fine piece of legistation drawn up by the Torie’s back in the 80’s
have heard about this sort of thing when i worked for the council back in the day
I’m very surprised they didn’t put it out to a contractor IE stobarts to weed out the deadwood and then take it back in house . this i did see and had a senior manager admit to back in the 80’s when large contractors were sniffing round the grounds maintance contracts for the public sector
Under TUPE if your job moves they have to offer you the same job, conditions etc at the new place.
CM reported that they offered stobbies drivers £500 plus top notch hotel accommodation to work through the strike but they refused to cross the picket line out of respect for the drivers. too right. i wont cross any picket line but i would like to rub the tesco nose in it. i wont touch them at all but i would love the chance to make them think they can get a truck out and turn round and say, ‘you could offer me ten times that and i still wouldnt work for you’. i have my morals and working for tesco goes against them 
Yep,Scanny,agree with what you’re saying about Tesco .
The Stobbies drivers did the right thing there.
Let’s hope the cash on offer, doesn’t persuade agency’s to send in immigrant scab labour.
scanny77:
CM reported that they offered stobbies drivers £500 plus top notch hotel accommodation to work through the strike
£500 per what? Day? Week? Or one off payment on top of wages?
Coffeeholic:
scanny77:
CM reported that they offered stobbies drivers £500 plus top notch hotel accommodation to work through the strike£500 per what? Day? Week? Or one off payment on top of wages?
says 500 pound bonus to work out of the livingstone depot during the tesco drivers strike.
the strikes meant to run from the 24 th may to the 26 th may
so id say 500 pounds bonus for three days work.
Can just see a queue of workers waiting to get in when the strike starts.£500 will be a big down payment on an apartment in warsaw. 
ady1:
Coffeeholic:
scanny77:
CM reported that they offered stobbies drivers £500 plus top notch hotel accommodation to work through the strike£500 per what? Day? Week? Or one off payment on top of wages?
says 500 pound bonus to work out of the livingstone depot during the tesco drivers strike.
the strikes meant to run from the 24 th may to the 26 th may
so id say 500 pounds bonus for three days work.
thats the assumption i made too. i cant see it being 500 per day.
tesco are of course denying it
the T & G are reportedly pushing for a national strike. this one has been in the pipeline for some time now and i have read that other depots are concerned that this new contract will be rolled out across the entire uk.
i have never been a fan of unions but in this case i am right behind them. tesco needs bringing down to reality and this is the opportunity to prove that they are not infallible. they ARE only a business. they DO rely on drivers to get the goods to stores. they even rely on drivers to get the goods into the RDCs in the first place. its about time they remembered just how much they rely on drivers
There has been a fair bit on the local radio up here. The deal WAS sign the new contracts or redundancy, if they didn’t take one or the other then it was the sack (isn’t that unfair dismisal ■■). Vote for strike action was reportedly 126 to 6 !!!
There are certainly less Tesco trailers around than usual at the moment, about half are being pulled by subbies and the other half by Tesco units, no more Stobarts than usual. Don’t know if they have tried to open a temporary depot or something, but I have seen a few units and trailers coming out of the opposite end of the Houstoun Industrial Estate (ie not the Nettlehill Road depot) where I haven’t seen any Tesco stuff before.
Monarch (the “agency” that run the rest of the agencies) has also put on the Tesco jackboots and is telling the other agencies that unless their drivers will cross the picket line they will be out of Tesco for good. Although from the sound of it a lot of the drivers are not going to cross the line (at least from the agency that went on the radio).
The radio station that was really going with the story yesterday couldn’t get a quote off anyone at Tesco, and made the point that they were the only one who could report it impartially since they didn’t have Tesco as an advertiser. Well guess what, today they not only have a quote - but they now have Tesco adverts… Coincidence ■■?
G
Tesco’s hinckley have hired in a load of white fridges to be loaded in Hinckley RDC and subbies and also and a few scanias for agency drivers, taking them to Carlisle for onward delivery to scottish stores.
nice easy 12 hour shifts 
I passed the Livingston site today. Stobarts drivers are going through the picket lines. Other subbies are scabbing too! Some agency drivers are driving Tesco units. Small hauliers & drivers continually complain about conditions in this industry, when they get a chance to stick by their fellow drivers who are fighting for their conditions, they S*** on them from a great height and break the line. No wonder goverment, employers and the public think we are dirt, when they see our fellow drivers treating their colleagues in this fashion.
Alex
it has been reported on the radio tonight that tesco have announced that 70 of the striking drivers will not be having their contracts renewed and will no longer work for tesco
no one has asked me to cross the line but that may be because i wont work for tesco anyway. i have been informed before that we are not allowed to cross the line as an agency. we are allowed to cover other runs but not the ones that would be taken out if the drivers werent on strike
keep it up guys