Resounding ‘YES’ to GXO pay deal worth double digits for many
Telecoms & Financial Services, GXO June 2 2023
Members across GXO have voted by four-to-one in favour of a CWU-brokered pay deal which delivers a fully consolidated rise of £1,500 for all ex-BT Supply Chain warehouse employees and base pay uplifts for drivers averaging 19%, with some receiving up to 53%.
The company’s final offer, which was ratified by 81% of those participating in a consultative ballot that closed yesterday (Tuesday), addresses longstanding CWU concerns that base pay levels for drivers were well below market rates – an argument that BT itself tacitly accepted in September 2021 when it took emergency steps to deal with a full-blown staff retention crisis.
Faced with a post-Covid and Brexit exodus of experienced drivers that was threatening to derail BT’s intricate Supply Chain operation, BT had no option but to introduce a range of“temporary” new allowances ranging from £100 per week (£433 a month) for HGV class 1 & 2 drivers – with van divers receiving a lower supplement of £50 per week (£216) a month.
However, despite reluctantly agreeing to CWU demands for a driver grading review – something that was overtaken by the subsequent outsourcing announcement – Supply Chain bosses always insisted the allowances were ‘time limited’ and would be subject to quarterly reviews that could lead to their removal with just three months notice.
As such, following last year’s mass-TUPE of Supply Chain drivers to GXO, the CWU and GXO agreed to negotiate the incorporation of the unconsolidated and non-pensionable ‘Transport Retention Bonus/ Skills Payments’ into base wages – with the breakthrough coming in this year’s pay talks.
A detailed breakdown of the new driver rates and the ballot result can be seen in GXO Logistics Members’ Bulletin No.101/2023. In summary, however, once the allowances have been replaced with consolidated pay, and an additional 4% increase applied on top of that, ex-Supply Chain drivers are now on course to receive fully consolidated and pensionable overall rises in base pay of between 9% and 53%. Those in-between are set to receive rises of 17%, 19% and 27% respectively under the offer – and the average increase across the whole range of CWU-represented van and HGV drivers is 19%.
Ex-Supply Chain warehouse members and non-drivers, meanwhile, will receive a flat-rate increase of £1,500, which equates to fully consolidated and pensionable increases averaging 5.89%, with lower paid staff – who represent the majority – receiving more.
The rises will be paid in paid in June salaries and are all backdated to April.
CWU national officer Tracey Fussey told CWU News: “The CWU National Team would like to thank all our ex-Supply Chain members in GXO who took the time to participate in the ballot, and also for their patience and support throughout what was a complex set of negotiations.
“For drivers in particular this year’s pay settlement is a complete vindication of the CWU’s longstanding position that a proper review of driver pay was desperately needed – with the deal providing a level of certainty and clarity on base pay rates that has hitherto been lacking.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the company’s ‘final’ offer was very best that could be received through negotiation, and it is gratifying that the ballot result demonstrates that a large majority of our members share that view.
Members across GXO are urged to share this story with any of their colleagues who are not currently members of the union. Any team member employee can easily and quickly join the CWU by clicking here.