Owners' shouting match in new power struggle
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HE BRITISH Association of Owner-Drivers held its first and diet was probably its last national conference in Coventry 1st weekend. Attendance was poor and some elements of the udience were obviously out for a vendetta against speakers, rites Stephen Geary.
Speakers from the Road Haulage Association, a training roup and a traffic area all suffered from interruptions from le floor and heckling from the conference which almost egenerated into a shouting match at times.
AOD secretary Mike Wells, ,ho was later to resign, .ported that there were 1 2 icat owner-drivers' associaons in Britain and another iree were on the stocks.
-There are now 2 5,0 00 ne-vehicle companies aerating in the country,he
He saw no reason why the AOD should not appeal to all of iem.
Mr Wells appealed for unity the Association. -Strength in nity means that you must stand igether by helping each other ad backing your leaders in this 3mmon cause," he told the rivers.
His report was a catalogue of fforts to encourage ownerdyers to join together, with one .)ice, and enjoy the benefits of ilk purchasing.
Mr Wells detailed a nationide advertising campaign and le setting-up and in one case, -building of Associations over le country by the BAOD top iree, chairman George Kelly, ce-chairman Harry Boland and Ir Wells himself.
BAOD stood to offer the Nner-driver a service that was cond to none, said Mr Wells, id the campaign to recruit iembers directly into the ssociation had borne some uit.
Those owner-drivers who did at join had only themselves to ame — it was time for them to and up and be counted.
et together
DAD Haulage Association :e-chairman Ken Rogers surved a sometimes hostile ception from owner-drivers at e weekend to put over the essage — We're all in the ime game so let's get gether."
Speaking at the first annual inference of the British sociation of Owner-Drivers in Coventry on Sunday, he told drivers: "What wewant is unity in road haulage — you should each belong to both the BAOD and the RHA — we are not fighting each other or taking each other's business.'
He .said that the Department of Transport and the EEC were both delighted to see associations arguing so that it could "pick us off."
The RHA was now a legally recognised body and he called on owner-drivers everywhere to join the RHA as the dominant body in road haulage.
Mr Rogers said that 27 per cent of RHA members had only one vehicle and 50 per cent had less than three vehicles.
The RHA had plans for freight offices to handle the work of small hauliers in at least four areas, he said. The future of those plans depended to a large entent on the decision of the owner-drivers whether to join the RHA.
"The RHA has set up freight offices and there is pressure to set up more It would be stupid if the BAOD and the RHA were competing for the same business — the customer will be delighted but you won't when you get paid, because the rates will be depressed," he said. He urged owner-drivers to join the RHA even if they did not like the look of the Association at present. "Join and go to the meetings and change it from the inside,' he said.
Mr Rogers said that the reason the RHA co-operatives had been set up was purely because the membership had asked for them to be set up.
"It hasn't happened that these extra offices have been set up because we are waiting for the outcome of negotiations between your executive and ourselves. If you don't want to become members, then we will set up, but if you do then we will come to some arrangement over co-operatives in the same area," said Mr Rogers.
In what he admitted was a sales drive for the RHA, Mr Rogers said that membership of the RHA was not expensive at £26 a year for a one-vehicle operator. Membership of the BAOD with one vehicle cost £25 to join and £20 a year after the first year.
Citing the benefits of the RHA, Mr Rogers also issued a veiled threat when he said that it was possible that the RHA might take legal advice over the question of non-members using the . R HA's conditions of carriage — which most owner-drivers use.
"The owner-driver of today is the fleet operator of tomorrow and if you employ another driver then you are enmeshed in wages negotiations, said Mr
Rogers. And once you become a boss, then you must join the bosses union. The Minister of Transport and the Minister of Employment have opted out of wages negotiations and left it to the union and the RHA to set up negotiating bodies," he said.
Mr Rogers told drivers that the RHA was bogged down with the legislation on fair trading which had forced it to withdraw its published rates schedule.
"The North Humberside ODA idea of publishing a rates schedule is laudable — but unfortunately it is illegal," he added.
Answering previously voiced criticism of RHA clearing houses, Mr Rogers told the owner-drivers that the clearing houses had to work to a strict code of conduct.
"You complain of the high rake-off of the clearing houses but you set up as businessmen so you know your costs — or you're damn fools if you don't — and you know the rates that are being offered.
"You'll get no sympathy from me if you start moaning later when you have taken the traffic, but you will get sympathy if you have been cheated by a firm giving a second, lower, rate."
He added that RHA clearing houses could be thrown out of the clearing-house section of the RHA if there were grounds for such action — "but a lot of clearing houses are back-street affairs and don't belong to the RHA anyway," he said.
Mr Rogers went on to list the success that the RHA had had in keeping British Rail out of the hire and reward haulage business; keeping MoT test charges down and setting up its own Vehicle Off the Road spares scheme.
Now, said Mr Rogers, the RHA was determined to fight the Prices Commission.
The Prices Commission report on road haulage was a complete waste of public money. "We hope that you will object as we will, because now Roy Hattersley (Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection) can freeze rates for 12 months — and we will all be in dire trouble if that happens," said Mr Rogers.
He told the drivers: "If you are not members then you are not paying for your share of the benefits. Your slogan is 'Strength in Unity', so let's unite.
"There is no bad feeling towards the BAOD on our side — we want to be friends, we are all out to further the interests of road haulage and our own organisations. Let's get together."
Answering angry comments about haulier-members of RHA alleged to be exploiting the owner-drivers, Mr Rogers told the conference bluntly: "If you can't swim — don't jump in the pool."
But he was told by some drivers that the RHA had the strength but it had no unity.
Mr Rogers told Raymond Thomas of Bradford OwnerDrivers Association that he was in favour of tarrification for all hauliers and he told Mr Thomas that he would look into reports of shipping cartels holding down rates for moving containers in the Brfadford area.
Owner-drivers took advantage of the presence of Mr Rogers to question the whole organisation and policy of the RHA — but they failed to let him. answer questions or to accept his point that the RHA should be changed from within.
Ratecutting blame
BIRMINGHAM Training Group training officer S. A. Chaplin told the owner-drivers that they were the ones who were responsible for undercutting.
'You are always undercutting yourselves,'" he said. "Would you work for another operator and not get double time on Sunday,'" asked Mr Chaplin.
"If you're going to end up as a glorified lorry driver, why not work for someone else,'" he said.
But he was told by one irate driver that the haulage industry was one of the most victimised of all industries_ Mr Chaplin told the ownerdrivers of the opportunities for the driver to take and pass his exams for the Certificate of Professional Competence.
And he agreed with some drivers who told him that the rules that had been introduced to bring in the exam were made in a very "lackadaisical ma ner.
Jerry Parker of South Yoi shire ODA complained abo the lack of places and courses teach the necessary skills pass the exam.
Regulations OWNER-DRIVERS must ha, an international operator licenceif they want to pick containers from docks anywhe if those containers have arrivi from abroad.
So said West Midlands seni traffic examiner Eric Smith. ladded that if an owner-driv wanted to hire a vehicle if b own was off the road, then I must have a margin of one c his operator's licence.
If that margin does not exi then a driver cannot hire vehicle without the consent the traffic office, said Mr Gree Clarifying points on hou and traffic regulations, he addE that even if a driver is keeping' tachograph in operation, f must keep a record of the issi and use of tacho charts.