Scottish call for union unity
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• It was obvious that the time for greater unity among trades unions was fast approaching Mr. Daniel Duffy said in his presidential address to the biennial conference of the Scottish Commercial Motormen's Union at Hawick last week.
In the past few years—and particularly in the past few weeks—he told delegates, they had witnessed the problems that had risen in inter-union disputes, because of the complexity of so many unions within one industry.
"The recent examples are the car industry and the steel industry. The policy of our union has been the formation of in dustrial unionism. There is no doubt that this is the solution, but unfortunately in the existing circumstances it is impossible to achieve," said Mr. Duffy.
Unions could not be parochial in their approach to greater unity if it were in the interests of their members.
He accilsed the Minister of Transport of "dithering" over implementing provisions of the new Transport Act and warned him that the union was becoming impatient at delaying tactics.
Mr. Duffy claimed thata Mounting number of charges were being brought against operators and drivers under the new regulations covering roadworthiness of vehicles.
The union, he said, had no sympathy with drivers who fell foul of these regulations as they had been amply warned. He advised members not to drive defective vehicles and promised them the full backing of the union against employers if they refused to drive vehicles which they did not consider roadworthy.
Later, SCMU secretary Mr. Alex Kitson accused operators of shielding behind the incomes policy. A resolution calling for restrictive incomes legislation to be repealed was adopted unanimously.