Booker drivers consulted about action as pay dispute continues

Delivery drivers at Booker’s Thamesmead site are being consulted by the union Unite about possible industrial action following a breakdown in talks about pay.

The dispute dates back to July 2021 when Booker refused to pay the HGV drivers at its Thamesmead site the same temporary rise of £5 per hour that it had awarded to drivers at its Hemel Hempstead depot.

A 3.3% pay increase in October and the promise of a further pay review in February this year were enough to stop strike action due to start in October, but the dispute flared up again in December. At that point, Booker had scrapped the planned review and was instead proposing to increase pay by £2 per hour.

The amount was dismissed as “completely unacceptable” by Unite, and strike action was scheduled for 23-24 December. However, this was suspended when Booker decided that it would, after all, take part in a pay review.

Talks continued over a two-month period, but were unsuccessful in finding a resolution to the dispute.

Unite regional officer Paul Travers said: “The pay review has ended and we are unhappy with the final position that the management at Booker Retail Partners has taken and, as a result, we are consulting our members at Thamesmead as to what the next steps will be. There is a possibility that we will hold a new ballot for industrial action.”