Sacked lorry
drivers vote to stage walkout

The Unite trade union said 92 per cent of the workforce, made up of more than 180 drivers, voted to strike after being given 90 days’ notice by their new employers, Eddie Stobart Ltd.

The drivers also voted in favour of taking industrial action short of a strike over the job losses.

Unite regional officer Harriet Eisner said yesterday that the drivers would be “deciding in the next couple of days on what action to take and when.”

Last month the transport workforce in Doncaster was transferred from Tesco to Eddie Stobart, which a month later issued notices to all staff their jobs would cease to exist in three months’ time. No promises have been made that the drivers will be re-employed after 90 days.

Ms Eisner said: “Unite is still in talks with Eddie Stobart Ltd, but the management remains intransigent that it wants to get rid of the drivers.”

A spokesman for Tesco said the transfer of the transport operation on August 5 was made as part of a review of its distribution network and after a period of consultation with staff and unions.

Nobody from Eddie Stobart was available to comment yesterday.