Area Standing Joint Committees To Be Set Up?
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WARNING against the interpretalfif tion of provisions of the Government haulage scheme in a manner contrary to the intentions of the body which framed them, the Road Haulage (Operations) Advisory Committee, was voiced, last week, by Councillor Charles Holdsworth, a member of the Committee.
Speaking at the annual meeting of the C.M.U.A. 's North-eastern Division, Councillor Holdsworth said he hoped the scheme would always be carried on in the spirit which had marked its inauguration—one of complete partnership between the Government and the haulier.
Stressing the call for the enrolment of vehicles in the " defence lines," Councillor Holdsworth said the whole of the vehicles owned by the haulage companies with which he was associated had been so enrolled. Figures up to the previous week showed that the " defence lines " enrolments for the country as a whole were quite good.
The subject of road-rail relationships was raised in a speech by a visitor from the Services, Major Arthur R. Jones, of A. R. Jones, Ltd., insurance broker to the C.M.U.A., who described the Government scheme as a fulfilment of his prophecy that road transport would be called upon offici
ally to place its services at the country's disposal in time of difficulty_ Councillor Holdsworth said that the Road-Rail Central Conference had cut out a lot of the acrimonious feelings between road and rail.
As is his usual practice on these occasions, an address was given by Mr. D. I. Sandelson, of Carr, Sandelson and Co., solicitor to the Division, who made an inspiring speech calling for maximum support for the war effort.
At the Divisional Committee meeting, which immediately followed, °consideration was given to the proposal that the machinery of the Standing Joint Committee of Road Hauliers National Organizations shall be extended to the provinces by the creation of area standing joint committees, as recommended by the national S.J.C.'s sub-committee on organization of the industry, Councillor Holdsworth, emphasizing that he favoured the amalgamation of associations into one national body, with clean-cut sections for the differentclasses of operator, said he would even be willing for each section to have separate finances. A disadvantage of the plan for the extension of the S.J.C. machinery to the provinces, as an alternative to amalgamation, was that
it 'still involved a continuance of duplication of effort.
Mr. James France, of Slaithwaite, an ex-president of the C.M.U.A. and an ex-chairman of the North-eastern Division, also voicing his strong desire for the amalgamation of associations, stressed the point that there should be one big association including A, B and C licence-holders. He quite agreed that A and B licensees should have their own special committees, but he thought it would be unwise to cast the haulier and the ancillary user asunder from the standpoint of national organization. So far as the Standing . Joint Committee was concerned, he moved that if there was to be a continuance of the S.J.C.'s power to make major decisions without consulting the associations represented upon it the Division should give support to the establishment of area standing joint committees, as they would be a channel of information for the provinces as to what was going forward.
Councillor Holdsworth said he sensed the feeling of the meeting to be that the setting up of area standing jant committees was regarded as the firSt step towards a .general amalgamation of associations.
Councillor Holdsworth was unanirnously re-elected chairman of the Division, and Messrs. L. J. Mather (Leeds) and R. E. Clough (Bradford) were unanimously re-elected senior vice-chairman. and junior vice-chai:-man respectively.