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Trade groups rebuffed over 14,000 stowaway fine plan
Page 4
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• by Dominic Perry The chief executives of the three main trade associations have blasted the government's plans to charge hauliers up to £4,000 per stowaway as "morally wrong" and "manifestly unfair".
The outspoken comments follow a meeting between the Freight Transport Association, the Road Haulage Association, the British International Freight Association and Immigration Minister Beverley Hughes; the trade associations' first consultation on the matter.
Although all parties describe the meeting as positive, the associations say they are disappointed that the government has not softened its stance on fining hauliers. They have also expressed their frustration that the authorities are still refusing to accept CO2 checks as an absolute defence to the fines. The government claims that these checks are not reliable enough to be considered foolproof, despite the fact that its own immigration officials at Dover regularly use the gas probes to search trucks for stowaways.
RHA chief executive Roger King says that although the meeting was welcome, the government's attitude leaves a lot to be desired. "The minister's opinion was that without the financial penalty hauliers would not pay any attention to the security of their vehicles." he says.
"This was an unacceptable point to make and we replied to her most robustly—for their own security, and for obvious commercial reasons, hauliers and drivers have always adopted strict security measures."
King adds that the RHA is disappointed that it was not able to consult with Hughes before the controversial changes to the Nationality. Immigration and Asylum Bill were put before the House of Commons.
Richard Turner, chief executive of the FTA, welcomes the minister's promise that it is not too late for amendments to the bill as it passes through the House of Lords, However he adds: "I still think we have some way to go to persuade her to be more sympathetic in the way they deal with drivers in this bill.
"Why should a driver who has been the victim of a criminal action have fewer
The operators' view: • Dick Denby from Lincoln-based Denby Transport says that the government has to face up tots responsibilities: "They have failed miserably in their duty to seal our frontiers, so what they are attempting to do is impose an outrageous fine on lorry drivers.
"It is just a blatant admission of governmental failure," he adds. "They already had powers to prosecute people conspiring to smuggle illegal immigrants—they just didn't use them.
"Why should hauliers be penalised for not doing the government's job for them?" he asks.
• David Sagnard from Calais-based Transports Carpentier says: 'Firstly I think the fines are unfair and damaging to the haulage industry.
"Secondly they have already been declared illegal, and now they want to re-introduce them—in rny opinion that's just illogical.
"We go to a lot of effort to ensure our trucks are free from stowaways. Unfortunately, there are sometimes circumstances beyond our control. Why should we be punished for that?" rights in law than an illegal immigrant who has broken into his vehicle?"
The associations are also pressing for a quick resolution to any appeals against existing fines that are still outstanding. In some cases these have been stalled for more than a year pending the outcome of the government's appeal against the High Court ruling in January that its current civil penalty scheme is illegal. This may not be heard until next spring.
Hughes herself describes the meeting as "constructive and useful" but remains firm over the issue of the fines: "The civil penalty has proved extremely effective in reducing the number of clandestines trying to smuggle themselves into the UK, by encouraging hauliers to be more thorough in securing their vehicles," she says.