More than 200 Tesco warehouse workers to lose jobs

[roverstillidie91]

Out of a job by xmas after contracts transferred to eddie stobart
Seems yet another blow adding more fuel to the fire for the jobs situation

http://m.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/doncaster-news/all-200-drivers-at-tesco-depot-to-lose-jobs-1-4903677?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

[GM-MarkB]

Oh dear

If those people are thinking they may get redundancy anytime soon think again....anyone that wants to know details can PM me and i'll pass on my fone number, i'll tell you all about it...it's not a nice story where Stobart are concerned

[Jenny]

No drivers = no requirement for transport managers/planners, which in turn means that my dad loses his job...

Tesco/Stobarts have royally screwed them over.

[River Don]

No drivers = no requirement for transport managers/planners, which in turn means that my dad loses his job...

Tesco/Stobarts have royally screwed them over.

Will Tesco necessarily want to outsource that? They may want to retain control of the logistics.

As for being screwed over, well it's a harsh reality if Stobart can do the same job more cheaply.

[BobG]

I thought TUPE would apply?

BobG

[mjdgreg]

As for being screwed over, well it's a harsh reality if Stobart can do the same job more cheaply.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Whilst I have a great deal of sympathy for the drivers, Tesco are in a very competitive world and it must obviously be cheaper for them to use Stobart. These days it can be a lot more expensive to employ your own staff (National Insurance, pension costs, holiday pay, sick pay, redundancy pay, training, negotiating with trade unions, etc.) than it is to use a subcontractor.

This is especially so if your workforce is part of a trade union that doesn't live in the real world. Instead of balloting for industrial action they should have been sat around the table trying to sort out how costs could be reduced to scupper the Stobart bid. This would probably have meant the drivers taking a pay cut and losing some of their perks but I reckon they would have preferred this to losing their jobs.

[Filo]

I thought TUPE would apply?

BobG

It should do, those positions will still be there, they`ll just be done by Stobart drivers instead, there could be grounds for a mass claim of unfair dismissal under the TUPE laws, the union should be right on this case, if they get away with it, it could open the doors for other companies to do the same

[Muttley]

I thought Wincanton ran that warehouse on behalf of Tesco, so nothing to do with Tesco really.

TUPE only protects their rights at the point of transfer.

From the article it seems they transferred to Stobart last month, and so the best claim they can have is that Stobart did not properly assess all their drivers on the same basis (points for skills, experience, absenteeism etc), although from experience a company will always find ways of keeping exactly who they want.

[Jenny]

I thought Wincanton ran that warehouse on behalf of Tesco, so nothing to do with Tesco really.

TUPE only protects their rights at the point of transfer.

From the article it seems they transferred to Stobart last month, and so the best claim they can have is that Stobart did not properly assess all their drivers on the same basis (points for skills, experience, absenteeism etc), although from experience a company will always find ways of keeping exactly who they want.

They have been employed by Tesco (rather than Wincanton) for some time now I believe... At least a couple of years.

[GM-MarkB]

I'll point you in the direction of my earlier post and add that i'm about to (in the next 2 weeks) be paid redundancy i'm owed by Stobart's some 3 1/2 years after 'we' took them to task following the closure of our warehouse.....don't hold your breath

[Filo]

I'll point you in the direction of my earlier post and add that i'm about to (in the next 2 weeks) be paid redundancy i'm owed by Stobart's some 3 1/2 years after 'we' took them to task following the closure of our warehouse.....don't hold your breath

When you say "we" do you mean the union or a group of individuals?

[GM-MarkB]

A rather large group of individuals who were shafted by Stobart and very, very, let down by Unite

[Filo]

A rather large group of individuals who were shafted by Stobart and very, very, let down by Unite

The union had done it`s job, you`d have been paid out much quicker than as a group of individuals

[GM-MarkB]

It's a bit more complicated than that mate, trust me, it's a real tale of woes

[jonrover]

I'm afraid this has been a long time coming.

What many people don't realise is that Stobarts is actually 40% owned by Tesco (as such ASDA won't allow Stobarts deliver stock to them any more). Its an absolute disgrace. All Stobarts will now do is give a minimum core workforce shitty contracts and outsource the rest to an agency to cover peaks in work (to save on sick pay, hols, flexible working rights ect) make them sign Swedish Derogation contracts to avoid parity pay if they work beyond 12 weeks. Its happening everywhere and its getting worse. The real disgusting fact is that the profits Tesco rake in makes this action immoral in my opinion.

Unite are currently lining up Stobarts as a major campaign target because of actions such as this we have seen at Doncaster. It makes me laugh that they look like some really good, "can do" company on that telly programme that is occasionally on on Channel 5, but the reality could not be more different. Always late with bullshit excuses...in the past month the air ambulance has landed on the M62 no fewer than 3 times! They are a dogs dinner of a company who offer a dogs dinner service. I hope the drivers who will be targeted in the campaign sign up and get active to stop this nasty vindictive company operating the way it does. Collectivity can and does work, as I have experienced first hand. Being organised in a trade union fast becoming the only way to try and protect yourself at work, not the redress through the employment tribunal system have been put out of reach of working people through costs adopted by the bas**rds in government. The quicker people realise that the better.

[Filo]

In my opinion, employment agencies should be outlawed anyway, they`re the job market`s equivalent of the football agent, leeches!

[GM-MarkB]

I'm afraid this has been a long time coming.

What many people don't realise is that Stobarts is actually 40% owned by Tesco (as such ASDA won't allow Stobarts deliver stock to them any more). Its an absolute disgrace. All Stobarts will now do is give a minimum core workforce shitty contracts and outsource the rest to an agency to cover peaks in work (to save on sick pay, hols, flexible working rights ect) make them sign Swedish Derogation contracts to avoid parity pay if they work beyond 12 weeks. Its happening everywhere and its getting worse. The real disgusting fact is that the profits Tesco rake in makes this action immoral in my opinion.

Unite are currently lining up Stobarts as a major campaign target because of actions such as this we have seen at Doncaster. It makes me laugh that they look like some really good, "can do" company on that telly programme that is occasionally on on Channel 5, but the reality could not be more different. Always late with bullshit excuses...in the past month the air ambulance has landed on the M62 no fewer than 3 times! They are a dogs dinner of a company who offer a dogs dinner service. I hope the drivers who will be targeted in the campaign sign up and get active to stop this nasty vindictive company operating the way it does. Collectivity can and does work, as I have experienced first hand. Being organised in a trade union fast becoming the only way to try and protect yourself at work, not the redress through the employment tribunal system have been put out of reach of working people through costs adopted by the bas**rds in government. The quicker people realise that the better.

Couldn't agree more Jon....they are by far the worst company I have ever worked for. Simply put, they sh*t on us when they closed down the warehouse I was working at.

[Sheepskin Stu]

In my opinion, employment agencies should be outlawed anyway, they`re the job market`s equivalent of the football agent, leeches!

Spot on Dave.