Unite said it had agreed a “ground-breaking deal” that secured the jobs of tanker drivers employed on Asda and Euro Garages contracts.
The union said industrial action was on the cards over a perceived threat to the drivers’ jobs, but following a vote among members, the employer had come to an agreement.
The drivers on the Asda North and South contracts are employed on an outsourced basis by Fuel Transport and Logistics (FTL) and those on the Euro Garages contract are employed by Hoyer.
Unite said the tanker drivers had become “alarmed” that Asda and Euro Garages’ owner, the Issa brothers, were in the process of rebranding and transforming Euro Garages into Asda on the Move (AOTM) stores and were using low cost fuel hauliers.
It claimed that this threatened their members’ jobs.
However, it said talks were scheduled and a deal reached, part of which involved the supermarket giant changing its contract with FTL so that drivers will continue to deliver fuel until 31 July 2031.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “This is a ground-breaking agreement which provides both job security and a substantial pay rise to Unite’s members.”
The union added that an agreement was also reached to transfer the existing AOTM trial site work to FTL and that if the project is rolled out then the transport work will be serviced by the company.
Unite said drivers on the Asda contracts operated by FTL will also receive a 10% pay increase.
Unite national officer Tony Devlin said the union had to plan its strategy in detail in order to defend drivers’ job security: “Any other fuel retailer thinking of following a similar strategy as Asda and Euro Garages should think again as Unite will use every resource we have to fight back and defend our members,” he added.
Asda and Hoyer were approached for comment.
