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UNITE launched a radical manifesto today to tackle the chronic worker shortage affecting Britain’s lorry-driving sector.
The move coincides with Wednesday’s ministerial roundtable of key industry players, organised by junior Transport Minister Baroness Vere, as estimates suggest that the sector is short of 76,000 drivers.
The union’s manifesto calls for the establishment of a national council to set industry standards and pay rates, with low wages, outsourcing, an “unhealthy reliance” on agency drivers and bogus self-employment conditions pushing workers away, Unite warns.
Government research is also needed to improve diversity in the overwhelmingly white, male, middle-aged-or-older industry, the document makes clear.
Unite also wants reforms to driving and working time regulations, better provision of parking and proper access to toilets.
National officer Adrian Jones said: “The government must take radical action to ensure that the widening shortage of drivers doesn’t develop into a full-blown crisis which harms our economic recovery.
“It is increasingly apparent that an industry based on low pay, long hours and the poor treatment of workers is not attractive to new entrants.”
