Union

GB Oils Limited
Tryst House
Glenbervie Business Park
Larbert
FK5 4RB



Dear Ms Foote

I acknowledge receipt of your correspondence dated 10th August the contents of which I considerably note.

Your assertion that Mr Pollock has been attempting to find agreement on a date with me is wholly inaccurate. I wrote several months ago seeking a meeting with Mr Pollock and members of your management team to enter into discussions on the back of your Company’s arbitrary decision without proper consultation with the Union to impose a wage freeze on my members.

Mr Pollock’s response to my formal request to meet with me and my Union’s elected representatives was that he was only prepared to meet me and to meet me informally. This proposal was unacceptable then as it is now. It is important that we have a formal meeting (not informal) and that a number of key Union elected representatives are in place. It was the intention to provide myself and six key elected Union representatives for the purpose of this meeting. Since then, the Company has provided both confusion and frustration around the Union’s formal request. In reference to the enclosed letter that you have provided me with a copy of which I received a copy of initially from my elected representatives, it is I believe a blatant attempt to both intimidate and frighten my members when they have a perfect legal right to ballot legally of which at that time if their industrial action ballot was to take industrial action, you know only too well they would be provided with a 12 week legal protection against dismissal from their employment and their contract.


Your correspondence failed to advise your employees of their legal entitlement with regard to this once their legal ballot was completed within the terms of the law. I would advise you your letter is currently receiving the consideration of this Union’s solicitors of which then I will then be writing to you again.

To this end, and yet again, I state quite clearly and categorically that this Union and its elected representatives are perfectly happy and content to meet representatives of your Company in order for us to try and find a way forward that has ultimately been our intention from day one of this matter and continues to be.

However, if you continue to deploy tactics that do no more than frustrate your employees, my members, in conjunction with the Union, then it will then be inevitable, in my view, that we will continue to pursue as we are currently our members’ legal right to ballot on the question of industrial action.

In conclusion, I would therefore be obliged if you would consider this letter as acceptance of meeting Mr Pollock for a formal meeting including that of six elected shop stewards who I will advise you of in due course.

I would therefore propose the date of the 9th September for us to meet.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely

Ron Webb
National Secretary, Transport