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Cemex has been delivered an ultimatum by its owner drivers to either pay them correctly or face industrial action. The long-running dispute between the cement manufacturer and around 700 of its UK owner drivers has now reached boiling point, says elected driver represen-tative Mick Binns of MB Driver Services. He says he wrote to Cemex four weeks ago demanding that the company "get it [the pay] right" by the end of this month or there will be "a series of one-day stoppages in September".

"They've been given an ultimatum," he confirms, adding that as yet he has received no response. The original dispute concerned Cemex's decision to introduce a rate increase despite rejection, but drivers are increasingly frustrated about not being paid correctly, or on time. "The money transferred can be totally different to what's on their [drivers'] paperwork," Binns states. He claims drivers are leaving "in unprecedented numbers", adding that in the past three months a dozen long-standing drivers have left the company.

Drivers have considered industrial action before, but Binns said at the time that they didn't want to be seen to issue threats. "We've had a series of meetings with [Cemex] and all we get is rhetoric," he adds. In a statement, Cemex concedes that "the introduction of new systems has unfortunately led to issues regarding payment and statement reconciliation". It adds: "We are sorry for the inconvenience this has caused our independent hauliers. A dedicated team  is working hard to resolve these issues as soon as possible."

Cemex claims that last July, 98% of independent hauliers were paid on time. It refutes Binns' claims of drivers leaving, adding that in the past 12 months the number of ready-mix drivers went up by six to 731. The company also expresses concern over the "public threat of stoppages and hopes any outstanding issues can be ironed out amicably".