Great Britain: Kone workers strike over use of ‘unreliable’ vehicle tracker device

About 300 engineering service workers at Kone (installation and maintenance of lifts, escalators, moving walkways/autowalks, doors, and loading bay areas) have begun a fourteen week program of strike action in a dispute over a tracker device in their vehicles, known as VAMS, which the workers union Unite, says is an unreliable method for measuring workloads. The union is looking to negotiate a framework for the use of these devices.
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Unite said that VAMS should not be used to verify time sheets, and site arrival and leaving times as it is unreliable. As evidence of this it quotes the case of one driver who was alleged to have driven 1,000 miles in one day without refueling. Unite says is not against the principle of VAMS when used for health and safety purposes but that it is taking a stand against its use for time management purposes, especially where there is the possibility of disciplinary and dismissal outcomes as a res

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