UK: Yodel couriers plan industrial action over pay & working conditions; incl. company comments
In August 2021, Yodel lorry drivers voted on whether to take strike action over pay and working conditions.
According to GMB union, workers were angry about work-life balance; agency workers being paid more than drivers directly employed by Yodel; an alleged lack of payouts in lieu of annual leave; and an alleged failure to honour agreements on holiday and sick pay. Workers were also angry they had not been offered substantial pay increases to keep them from leaving for better-paid jobs elsewhere, at a time when employers are struggling to hire workers, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit.
In September 2021, 250 workers voted to strike. It is reported that the action would affect deliveries from Yodel's depots in Hatfield in Hertfordshire, Glasgow, and Wednesbury in the West Midlands.
This ballot result came as Booker drivers also voted for strike action over a pay dispute.
In October 2021, GMB union announced that Yodel had offered to increase pay for LGV drivers to £16 an hour. In Hatfield, workers would receive 317.19 an hour.
Company comments included below.