Arrow XL workers to protest at Logistics UK Awards

Low paid workers employed by Arrow XL will protest tomorrow outside the prestigious Logistics UK Awards, where the company has a significant presence.

When: Thursday 8 December 18:00
Where: Park Plaza Hotel, 200 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7UT

The demonstration will feature a banner reading: Arrow XL Time to Deliver Fair Pay.

The 350 members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, at the company have been taking strike action since October in a dispute over pay. Many of the workers are only paid the minimum wage, with other workers paid just above £9.50 an hour.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Arrow XL’s billionaire owners are guilty of paying poverty wages and Unite will expose this travesty at every opportunity.

“Arrow XL needs to stop prevaricating and return to the negotiating table with a fair offer.

“Unite does what it says on the trade union tin and always defends its members’ jobs, pay and conditions. Unite will leave no stone unturned in the support for our members at Arrow XL.”

The workers will begin all-out (continuous) strike action from Friday (9 December). They had been striking on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The industrial action began in October.

The workers undertake two person deliveries of large items for a host of retailers including Amazon, Very Group, LG Electronics, Richer Sounds, and Buy it Direct.

Despite the real inflation rate (RPI) currently standing at 14.2 per cent, Arrow XL has only been prepared to offer the workers a five per cent pay increase, which is a substantial real terms pay cut.

Despite not being prepared to pay its workers a decent pay rise Arrow XL, which is highly profitable, does not extend the same parsimony to its directors. The company’s highest paid director was paid £539,000 in 2021, an 84 per cent increase on the previous year.

Arrow XL is part of Logistics Group Holdings Ltd, which is owned by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay Family Settlements.

Unite national officer Adrian Jones said: “The strike action is causing extreme delivery delays for all of Arrow’s clients but this dispute is entirely of the company’s own making.

“Arrow XL must drop its high handed and dismissive attitude to its staff and return to the negotiating table in order to agree a fair pay increase in line with the cost of living.”