Tesco drivers call off strike ahead of offer

STRIKE action involving lorry drivers from one of Tesco’s biggest distribution depots has been called off after bosses said they would table a new offer to workers tomorrow.

The drivers, who are based at the supermarket giant’s warehousing centre at Middle Bank, Doncaster, walked out for 48 hours last week, disrupting supplies.

Almost 200 staff are involved according to union Unite, and many of them marched from the depot to the Tesco store in Church View, Doncaster, to highlight their cause.

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The dispute broke out after Tesco transferred the operation of its Doncaster site to national haulage contractor Eddie Stobart Ltd (ESL) in August.

Drivers are angry that after just one month the company issued them all with redundancy notices as part of a “review of operations”.

Their latest stoppage was due to start at a minute past midnight today, but it has now been postponed until after the meeting with ESL bosses.

Unite regional officer Harriet Eisner said: “Stobart’s has confirmed it intends to put an offer on the table, so we are suspending Thursday and Friday’s action pending the talks on Friday.

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“We are not ruling out further action, but Unite is keen to explore what ESL is offering, and that talks are conducted in a constructive and positive manner.”

ESL has consistently claimed that it has offered alternative jobs to the majority of drivers affected, while Tesco has said it is working with ESL to resolve the dispute.

However, the union has claimed that those jobs are on reduced terms and conditions, or would mean drivers transferring to depots in other parts of the country.