BHS collapse threatens Warwickshire warehouse workers

THE administration of BHS has threatened the jobs of hundreds of drivers and warehouse staff at the company which delivers goods to retailer, union leaders have said.

DHL supplies the network of stores on a daily basis but the administration has placed a question mark over the jobs of 60 drivers and 300 warehouse workers – many of them members of the Unite union.

The majority of the Unite members are based at the DHL operation in Atherstone, near Coventry.
 
In a statement DHL said: “While discussions with the administrators are continuing, it would be premature to speculate on the long term impact of last week’s announcement. However, we are working closely with our trade union colleagues at this time.”

Fearful of what the future may hold for the DHL staff, Unite has called for talks with management to clarify the workers’ position.

Matt Draper’s Unite’s national officer for road transport, said: “We are asking DHL to explore what the (BHS) implications are. The BHS situation demonstrates that the effects go beyond those directly employed to those working in the wider supply chain.
 
“It appears that our members could be the latest group, after the staff and BHS pensioners, to suffer from the financial machinations at BHS over the last decade.”
 
Around 11,000 jobs at the retail group are thought to be at risk unless a deal can be done to save as much of the 164-store network as possible.