Nearly 500 Eddie Stobart drivers ballot for strike action

Nearly 500 eddie stobart drivers who supply Morrisons stores are being balloted over strike action in a dispute over agency workers and pay and conditions. Unite says the vote could lead to food shortages for Morrisons customers if drivers walk out.

The drivers work from distribution depots in Wakefield, Stockton-on-Tees and Northwich in Cheshire, and the ballot runs until 4 June. Unite says around 40% of drivers in Stockton and Northwich are now agency workers, and that the company is gradually replacing its unionised workforce with people on insecure contracts and significantly diminished terms and conditions.

Sharon Graham on Eddie Stobart

Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary, said: "Eddie Stobart's attempts to undermine drivers' pay and conditions, creating a race-to-the-bottom on employment standards, is appalling." She added: "This disgraceful union-busting will not be allowed – these workers have Unite's absolute backing."

Neil Howells, Unite regional officer, said: "Morrisons will be extremely angry that it is facing empty shelves because Eddie Stobart is union-busting." He added: "There is still time to avoid strikes, but that will require Eddie Stobart reaching a fair agreement with Unite."

Culina Group and Morrisons

Culina Group, which owns Eddie Stobart, said it remained "committed to finding a sustainable solution" and said it had been involved in "ongoing constructive consultations with Unite about the best way to deliver a long-term approach to driver recruitment and retention amid the present national driver shortage". It also said it would "continue to engage with all parties through the previously agreed processes".

Morrisons said "deliveries continue as normal" and encouraged both sides to "engage constructively to find a solution." For Morrisons shoppers, the immediate issue is not a completed stoppage but whether the ballot produces one before the June 4 deadline, with Unite warning that the supply routes serving those three depots could be the point of pressure.