Hours 'not the cause of strike'
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
CLAIMS that European driving hours were a main cause of the recent drivers' dispute were dismissed in the Commons last week by Transport minister William Rodgers, who said that only a minority of drivers among the most highly paid would be affected.
He admitted that the regulations were complex and placed a burden on the industry, but he did not believe that there was anything in them which was not capable of solution in a normal and orderly way.
The transition period of adjustment to the new regulations had generally been found to be successful and was largely welcomed, said Mr Rodgers. However, he agreed that it produced some apparent anomolies in a country where the law was usually rigidly enforced.
It was Transport and General Workers Union sponsored MP John Ellis (Labour, Brigg and Scunthorpe) who brought in the dispute — one of the main reasons why it proved so intractable, he said, was that the regulations were complex.
This "wretched" Common Market regulation and the "ham-handed" way in which it had been brought into operation had caused much of the trouble.
Mr Rodgers replied that although changes in a law of this kind inevitably led to dissatisfaction and placed additional burdens on the road haulage industry he did not believe that in any conceivable way this could be a major cause of the dispute.
Answering a smilar charge from Eric Heifer (Labour, Walton), the minister said there had been the closest consultations between his department and the TGWU to enable these complex regulations to be understood.
He paid tribute to the union and in particular to national organiser Jack Ashwell for the help he had given in this respect.
Opposition spokesman Norman Fowler entirely supported the view that drivers' hours were not a major factor in the dispute.