Pressure is mounting on the DVSA management to return to the negotiating table with a second union pledging to escalate strike action across DVSA centres this week.
Can HGVs ever be weaned off their addiction to diesel? Alternatives such as recycled chip fat, natural gas, electric pantographs or even shire horses (see Commercial Motor 26 November for a trip down memory lane) still seem a long way from the mainstream.
Menzies Distribution has bought Scottish parcels carrier Oban Express to boost its service offering in remote locations.
As ever with things such as the Autumn Statement and Spending Review, the devil is in the detail – in the latter’s case about 160-plus pages of detail.
Well, it seems that it’s going to happen. I’m not trying to make any political points when I say that I was sceptical when it was first announced. Measures which hit employers in the pocket – which this surely will – have a tendency of entering that wonderful Westminster black hole known as the U-turn.
Around 2,000 drivers and warehouse staff across three Tesco DCs could be taking strike action in the run-up to Christmas, after union Unite began balloting them following what it described as a “pitiful” pay offer by the retailer.
Most authorised testing facilities (ATFs) were unaffected by the strike carried out by Prospect vehicle testing and enforcement staff working for the DVSA earlier this month, the government agency has said.
The RHA and FTA have expressed their frustration at the government’s failure to back calls for an HGV driver training fund in the Autumn Statement, and criticised the absence of a dedicated driving apprenticeship.
Employers can ensure they comply with medical requirements surrounding diabetes and driving with the launch of a device that monitors blood sugar levels in real time.
Fuel duty is set to be increased next year and will climb each year after that in line with inflation.