Displaying items by tag: Drivers

India: Ambuja Cement has introduced a comprehensive Group Personal Accident Insurance (GPA) policy for truck drivers. The new policy has a policy cover of around US$7m. It is set to benefit nearly 12,000 drivers, who are third-party employees, in case of accidental death or permanent disability. The subsidiary of Switzerland’s LafargeHolcim says it is the first cement company in the local sector to start such as a plan.

“Road safety has been a big challenge as we have little control beyond our plants’ premises. Introduction of Group Personal Accident Insurance policy for the truck drivers – who operate for round-the-clock dispatches – is yet another step by Ambuja Cement to exhibit how much we value them and their work,” said Ajay Kapur, the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Ambuja Cement.

Brazil: SNIC, the national cement industry union, says that 70% of cement plants have suspended operation due to a strike by truck drivers. A survey the union ran found that less than 3% of the average daily cement distributed has been delivered to its final destination since the start of the strike action on 21 May 2018.

Before industrial action started the local cement industry distributed around 200,000t/day. At the start of the strike this fell to 10,000t/day and has since dropped further to 6000t/day. Paulo Camillo Penna, president of SNIC, said that the cement industry was suffering disproportionately because plants have been affected by raw materials failing to be delivered and lack of space to store cement inventory. SNIC expects that once the strike ends, it will take two to three weeks for production at cement plants to return to normal.

UK: Strike plans by truck drivers working for Hanson Cement have been cancelled following a revised pay offer. The planned industrial action scheduled for 26 – 27 February 2018 was expected to negatively effect deliveries from the Padeswood cement plant, according to the Daily Post newspaper. The Unite union said that its members at eight depots across the UK had voted ‘overwhelmingly’ to accept an improved two-year pay deal.

About 240 workers have accepted the overall package that will mean an increase of 3.7% from 1 January 2018 and for 2019, an increase that could range from 3.4 - 4.4%. The union members of Hanson subsidiary Castle Cement are based at eight depots in the UK at Avonmouth, Bellshill in North Lanarkshire, Birmingham, Clitheroe in Lancashire, Kings Cross in London, Middlesbrough, Mold and Stamford in Lincolnshire. The company delivers bulk and ready-packed cement to customers across the UK.