Fed-up hauliers to set up blockades by David Craik and
Page 7
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Sally Nash • UK hauliers are pledging to bring the country to a standstill this week when more than a thousand trucks take part in a Trans-Action national blockade as the protest against fuel-tax hikes intensifies.
Trans-Action is calling for "go-slows" across the country: 20-25mph on motorways and lOmph on A-roads. The group hopes this will take place from 08:00-09:00hrs and 16:0017:00hrs tomorrow (17 April).
The French-style action, which promises to be the biggest piece of direct protest by hauliers "north, south, east and west" in years in the UK, proves that they have finally "had enough", according to one Norfolk haulier.
Chris Cain of Merseysidebased TR Group Holdings, who set up Trans-Action and is known as the Grim Reaper, says the group has been inundated by hauliers wanting to get involved in a national blockade following the London demonstration and regional blockades.
One operator says: "The country will come to a standstill. The news that this blockade is on is spreading from haulier to haulier. The reason people did not take direct action before this was because they did not want to single themselves out for special treatment from the Ministry."
There were more demos last Thursday including road blockades, delays and breakdowns organised locally. Cain was charged and cautioned for blocking the M62 interchange into Liverpool. "It's a small price to pay to save thousands of truckers' livelihoods," he says.
The Road Haulage Association says its position over the protests remains, despite criticism from members about its lack of help with publicity over the London demonstration. RHA director-general Steven Norris says he feels sympathy for companies which suffer an increase in fuel prices, but he still believes the proper way to bring about change is through argument (see page 8).