What A.R.O. Has Done and Is Doing
Page 19
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A N outspoken condemnation of the
subversive and obstructionist tactics of the Ministry of Transport was the main feature of the report of the A.R.O. National Director, Mr. R. W. Sewill, at the annual general meeting of the Association on Monday last.
Mr. Sewill reviewed the work of the Association during the year. Its activities had increased, rather than diminished, as the result of the war,, and the number and variety of the problems with which it had to deal had grown.
Headquarters and area secretaries were, at the moment, grappling with difficulties arising from petrol distribu tion in the defence areas, with the payment for hire of vehicles for civil defence, with problems arising from reserved occupations, with conditions arising from the Wages Act, with ques
tions concerning the suspension of Section 19, relating to drivers' hours, and the keeping of records relating to drivers'. hours of work.
The suspension of the operation of Section 19 was permitted in cases where the employer can prove that the traffic is for urgent Government work. The Ministry will not, however, agree that drivers' log sheets need not, be completed.
It had been agreed that wages need not be paid for time spent in air-raid shelters. In some districts, however, men were spending as much as 20 hours per week in shelters, and from that arose the problem of the 48-hours minimum working week. It was suggested that, if the men were willing, they should work the 48 hours.
As regards holidays with pay, it had been accepted that the time during which these holidays could be given, for 1940, should be extended to March, 1941. The holiday could be taken in two*periods of three days, provided that each followed immediately on the man's ordinary weekly day off.
The problems of rates stabilization were being tackled one by one E". s opportunity arose. Following a good deal
of work, agreement had been reached on a national schedule for the haulage of sugar beet. In this connection Mr.
Sewill paid a tribute to the help given
by S.T.R. of The Commercial Motor; 'a national scale of rates for the haulage of livs stock was in force, and steps were .being taken to remedy any dissatisfaction which had arisen over their rate. '
A national scale had also been agreed for the clearance of village dumps of -scrap materials. Agreement had been come to in connection with the conveyance of hats from Luton, and it was hoped shortly to link this up with rail rates, so that there should be no disparity between road and rail. Mr. McDowall's schedule of local rates for the Metropolitan area had met with approval and was actually likely to be applied in Northern Ireland.
The Road and Rail Central Conference was to meet and was prepared to put forward the suggestion that agreed national scales should be enforceable.
Referring to Traffic Movement, Ltd., Mr. Sewill said that, to date, it had been responsible for the movement of nearly 24 million head, from no fewer than 576 collecting centres. Not one complaint had been received that anything had ever been left behind. The collection of scrap from farms had been going on for three months, in which time 3,000 tons had been moved, while 1,000 tons had been conveyed from village dumps in the space of nine weeks.
The problem of evacuating sheep from the defence areas had been solved by T.M.L. The Ministry of Food could not do it: the Ministry of Transport could not. No other organization but T.M.L. could have under
taken this task. More than 60,000 head of sheep and lambs were moved from the Romney Marshes to places all over the country. The work was accomplished in a fortnight.
Mr. Sewill then turned to discuss the various memoranda which the industry had submitted to the Ministry of Transport, particularly that from the Road-Rail Central Conference, in cooperation between road and rail, and the report by the Goods Transport Special Emergency Committee (the Garcke Committee).
These memoranda were passed on to the T.A.C., which, apparently, " chewed the cud of other people's efforts, subsequently resuscitating them in less appropriate, form."
These memoranda, prepared at short notice and at the expense of consider able time and labour by leaders of the industry, put forward concrete proposals which could be carried out by machinery already in existence. Both were rejected by the Ministry on the plea—an extraordinary one, in the face of the facts—that the machinery needed for putting the suggested schemes into operation could not be prepared in time, The industry, said Mr. Sewill, must know the reason for this obviously obstructionist policy. The position of the Regional Traffic Commission was made as clear as possible in the first memorandum.
All that was asked of them was that they should consult the industry. The Commissioners voted as one man against the memorandum. Why? Can it be that they do not want to take advice from these people who know?
The Royal Commission recommended co-operation between road and rail. The Salter Conference referred to it. Every Minister of Transport has recommended it. The memorandum embodied co-operation in the fullest possible form, yet it was rejected. A deputation from the Standing Joint Committee of A and 13 licensees was to meet the Minister on Wednesday last.
Mr. Sewill made the important announcement ,that, the Standing Joint Committee is. in communication with the National Road Transport Employers Federation, with a view to closer working, to the end that the interests of A and B licensees, whose problems were more numerous and pressing than those of C licensees, should have–better attention, so that hauliers can be better organized to meet the menaceof control by the Commissioners, Mr. Kinder gave a brief résumé of the practical work which was being done ,by the Association in connection with such matters as fuel supplies, military and civil defence hire, producer gas, and reserved occupations problems. He referred to the new procedure under which vehicles are now to he requisitioned by the R.T.C. for the military.
Mr. Hindley .reported at length on the financial position. The position of the Association, he said, was better than ever. The reserves were only £58 short of the total of £10,000 which he had hoped to reach by March 31, 1940.