Protesting drivers unlock vans

Press, 29 July 1980, Page 2

Protesting drivers unlock vans

Five owner-drivers formerly employed by Premi Foods Ltd, in Christchurch, have agreed to allow the company access to their refrigeratec vans; to allow stocktaking. When Premi . Foods closet its South Island business last week the owner-drivers locked their vans in ar attempt to get the companj to- pay compensation. The drivers were given twc months pay in lieu of notice but- the drivers facet financial commitments or the. vans they own. The secretary of the Christchurch Road Transport Association (Mr E. H. Williams) said yesterday thai the owner-drivers had started talks with the other distributors, and a proviso for an agreement on future work for the company was that the vans be unlocked. The vans were locked, but the perishable food has been kept in good condition because the electricity supply has been maintained. Mr Williams said he was hopeful the talks would result in contracts being signed with the alternative distributors. If the talks are successful the drivers will not seek, compensation. Premi Foods is a subsidiary of the Rangitaiki Plains Dairy Company, based at Edgecumbe, in the Bay of Plenty. It closed its South Island distribution business because of uneconomic returns in what it said was an “extremely competitive” market,..... - ■ It is the second company in the last two months to cease, distributing frozen foods or similar products, Johnson Foods, Ltd, of Blenheim Road, went into liquidation last, month. The company,’set up in 1972, dis-' tributed yoghurt, cheese and other products. A liquidator was appointed on June 11. The Canterbury Drivers’l Union is holding up thei Premi owner-drivers as

r examples of the fate ol , union drivers who decide ti • “go it alone.” ’■ The union secretary, Mi I P. R. Liggett, said the prob ; lem which confronted the [ Prerai drivers would arist . more in the future. ! “Generally companies thai ’ have owner-drivers are in i , run-dovyn position and havt , not replaced their vehicles ’ Rather. than find. large amounts of capital to remain iin business they have the introduction of owner-drivers.” Other companies that were ! in a better financial position used owner-drivers because •it was more profitable, he : said. Contracts entered into by owner-drivers provided little protection for the drivers. The employer could cancel a driver’s vehicle authority without even advising him. “Also the driver has no right to negotiate his prices. If the employer wants to j lower the cartage rates to get more work,, the ownerdriver gets less of a cut. “In Australia most of I these vehicles are ,re--1 possessed three or four times in the vehicle’s life,” said Mr Liggett.