Bunhill: TNT drivers wait on for Murdoch

FANS of Rupert Murdoch have so far been disappointed by his failure to turn up at the industrial tribunal hearing in Manchester into the dismissal by TNT of 36 lorry-drivers who braved the Wapping picket lines to deliver his newspapers. The drivers, who are funding their own case, maintain that five years after the Wapping dispute, they have been forced out of their jobs following TNT's repricing of the distribution contract. While Murdoch has yet to appear, TNT did produce a historic secret document signed by the great man and Alan Jones of TNT. In it, Murdoch agreed to spend pounds 7.7m on TNT vehicles and pounds 300,000 on depots and pay up to pounds 1,067,000 a week towards the operating costs of the contract. This prompted the tribunal chairman to demand details of the exact relationship between Murdoch and TNT. Watch this space.

(Photograph omitted)