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DO YOUR BIT!
On Saturday 20 November the RHA is organising a "Fair Play On Fuel" protest. it will be held in the Midlands which is a good opportunity for everyone to attend. There are already a very large number of hauliers who will take part but there will still be many who are members of the RHA who will not bother to attend.
The reason they do not attend is because they ask "What good does that do?" For those who still don't know it may help to answer their question.
The event will be covered by National TV, news reports, all the media, national and local radio and Sky News who will pass on the message to the general public that the haulage industry in this country is persecuted and taxed to breaking point.
This publicity is then taken on board by people who usually don't care two hoots about the very industry that delivers the food they eat, the drinks they drink or the clothes they wear. This generates public support.
Once this is achieved it becomes an embarrassment to the government—a government whose MPs will soon be knocking on doors for votes that put them in or out of power. Most of all, the more that are there, the more it is saying "look how many are displeased Mr Brown and Mr Blair". Hauliers are paying massive taxes which is a burden that no other industry carries. If you are a haulier who thinks diesel is cheap and the tax you pay is very reasonable then sit at home and count your profits.
But if you are a haulier who thinks diesel and VED are excessive and you have a small profit margin which is not rewarding enough for the long hours, hard work and dedication, and is only a small percentage of a large turnover, then is this not a good enough reason to "be there"?
It may come to them who wait, but how long can you wait? No matter what number of vehicles a haulier operates, we all share the same problem in the industry: fuel cost. It's the number one cost on every haulier's list.
Go to the fuel protest. if you are an owner-driver you will most probably find yourself speaking to the manager or owner of one of Britain's largest haulage companies, and sharing the same common problem—fuel costs. So really it's quite simple, isn't it?
If you care, be there. If you don't, you won't.
Paul Fox, Mama, Cambs.