THE PETROLEUM Haulage Contractors Association, represented by the Union of Clerical Administrative & Supervisory Employees (UCASE) and the National Workers Union (NWU), have signed a new two-year contract on behalf of tanker drivers, the NWU reported on Tuesday.
The contract, which runs from July 2004 to June 2006, covers increases in haulage rates of 15 per cent in both years of the contract, as well as improvements in standby rates and bunkering duties. The parties have agreed to hold further discussions to improve group life insurance coverage, introduce a pension scheme and update the medical provisions, the NWU said in a press statement.
RETROACTIVE PAYMENTS
President of UCASE, Danny Roberts, said that the parties agreed to pay the retroactive payments over a three-month period beginning with 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the retroactivity being paid in December. He noted, however, that this was contingent on the haulage contractors signing off with their respective marketing companies in respect of increased haulage rates. He warned that those marketing companies which are lagging behind can prepare themselves to face the possibility of industrial action.
Haulage contractors have reached agreements with Shell, Esso, Texaco, Petcom and Petrojam.
The UCASE president noted that the haulage contractors had renewed their call for Government to take action in respect of the period of calibration of tanks, the duty-free importation of vehicles, goods-in-transit and public liability insurance coverages and the development of a Code of Practice for the petroleum trade.
