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2 June, 2008
Some 500 truck drivers of two contract firms attached to Royal Dutch Shell in the UK voted overwhelmingly for industrial action last week. The drivers, represented by Unite and employed by Hoyer and Suckling Shell, haul petrol and other refined products for the multinational across the UK.
Ron Webb, Unite’s National Secretary for Road Transport, said the votes – 95% at Hoyer and 87% at Suckling Shell – reflect drivers’ feelings of increasingly being short-changed. “These drivers are paying a hefty price for Shell’s stratospheric profits,” said Webb, noting they work 48-hour weeks and take home a mere £23,000 after taxes.
Unite is seeking a minimum gross salary of £36,000 per year, about £2,000 more than Shell drivers’ current gross pay. “Shell would be far better placed if they were to stop stuffing their shareholders’ pockets and ensure their contractor Hoyer had the resources to conclude a deal that is acceptable to our members,” said Webb.
Unite and Hoyer are expected to meet for further negotiations in order to break the pay deadlock. The drivers work out of several UK terminals of the oil giant, and work under Shell fuels distribution contracts.