State transport
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Icannot allow your interview with Larry Kirwan of Ireland's state transport operation CIE—and his comment "They [private operators] could cope with our work, but could they provide the same high standards"—to pass (CM2329 June).
In Christmas week 1973, I was carrying Christmas post for the Irish post office. My vehicle was a 22cwt Bedford CF van, and I had been working for myself since leaving the navy. I had seen an ad in the newspapers from the Post Office looking for subcontractors for the Christmas mail and I applied to them for work.
Sometime after my application, I had a phone call from a Mr Larry Kirwan of a company called ClE, asking me would I like to carry the Christmas mails for CIE, as being a state body, it was the rule that the state's post office would always give it to them—but they didn't have the vehicles to do this particular business, so they used subcontractors. At that time, I did not have much choice, so I agreed, despite their taking 20% of the rate for their administration costs.
On Friday evening of the first week's work, I asked the Post Office supervisor what time we would start the next day (Saturday). He said he was sorry, but the CIE drivers had demanded that they should be allowed the overtime on a Saturday, and not the sub-contractors, so the staff were getting the work. But he told me I could come down on the off-chance of getting some work.
Some of your readers might remember there was a fuel shortage at the time, and I was having severe difficulty getting fuel, so I decided to leave the van there and hitch a lift in and out. During the week, the CIE Group chairman had gone on national radio to tell the Irish that they had a duty to use CIE as it was the most efficient operator in the state and therefore the nation was conserving the fuel by using CIE. The next morning this "most efficient operator" sent in its vehicle to replace mine.
It was a Leyland Octopus eight-wheeler flatbed with a BR wooden container on the back with a two-man crew I worked it out that paying for wages alone was costing CIE 50% more than I was charging.
In the 20 years since that day, I have found out that CIE, with all its work practices and subsidies, still undercuts our quotations by 40%---this has little to do with efficiencies and much to do with the taxpayer.
I have long hoped that the European Commission would take an interest in CIE's affairs. But the bureaucrats seem to be happy going on doling out European taxpayers' money to undermine the private sector.
Back to CIE, the day! provide their standards to our customers, is the day I go out of business.
Jerry [(jersey Blueflite Logistics,Dublin.