Icy negotiations

Several of BICO’s mobile operators were not on the road today.

Many of them have ceased operation over what they perceive as a move by the company to charge them the electricity costs for overnight charging of refrigeration units, thereby reducing their profit margin.

The BICO head, Edwin Thirlwell, says the reality going forward is when electricity costs go up, the rate for mobilers will also go up and in fairness, if they go down the rate would also go down accordingly.

He says during the COVID-19 period the company had an electricity bill of $75,000 every week to cover the charging costs for the mobilers alone.

He says while that number has since decreased to about $75,000 every two weeks, it is still a major cost that has to be covered.

Mr. Thirwell says all of the mobilers own their vehicles but some of their attendant costs are either significantly offset, or undertaken by BICO.

Citing an example, he revealed that the arrangement with the mobilers includes a special, subsidised rate for diesel, while the company is responsible for the maintenance of its refrigeration units.

In the meantime, Mr. Thirlwell says BICO’s operations have not been severely affected by the situation, as their products are still available in stores islandwide.

He is also optimistic that there will be others willing to fill the roles of mobilers, as they usually get inquiries on an ongoing basis through their ad promotion for mobilers.

Responding to reports that the mobilers are seeking to have a meeting as early as next week, Mr. Thirlwell says he is willing to do so, as long as it does not descend into a shouting match.

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