Confused Hauliers Await RHA Lead
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piPPLY it where you can ", seems to be the general theme of professional hauliers up and down the country when asked by "The Commercial Motor" (before Wednesday's RHA executive meeting) what they were doing about the controversial S per cent RHA recommended rates increase. Some had strong words to say about the way the association had "bungled it" (in their view), whilst others, still awaiting guidance, said that in any case they proposed to go ahead because they had to have some increase now.
Asked whether his company was applying the 5 per cent, Mr. George Robson, managing director of Robson's Border Transport, of Carlisle, said they were applying it to a lot of their customers and were getting a good response from others. There had been no point-blank refusals. "To give good service and good working conditions you must increase the rate ", he said.
Scottish long-distance hauliers 3. and A. Smith of Maddiston, who have circulated most of their customers informing them of the increase, have received only two absolute refusals, the majority of customers asking for the company to await the outcome of the Prices and Incomes Board inquiry. "We will have to have some increase—that is a fact ", a spokesman said.
The Fife and District Tipper Operators Association, possibly one of the keenest tipper groups regarding rates, had agreed, a fortnight ago, to go ahead with the 5 per cent all-round increase, but Mr, Tom Gatiens, the association's secretary, thought that the outcome of the inquiry had put a damper on the recommendation. He understood that one or two individuals had tried to apply the increase and had met with refusal.
Trying to apply the 5 per cent was how John Davison, managing director of Davisons Transport, Shildon, put his company's attitude to the situation. Letters had gone out—not directly asking for FL specific percentage, but asking for some
s26 form of increase—and whilst it was too early to gain a general view of the response at least one customer had refused in the strongest terms "in the national interest ".
Also "trying to get what we can " was J. and 11. Transport Services (Peckham) Ltd., who, according to managing director Mr. H. Jenne, had sent out letters to customers explaining precisely the increases with which his company was faced. What had to be remembered, he said, was that many hauliers had been unable to apply previous RHA recommended rates increases (with the exception of last autumn's 2i per cent which, he considered, had been unanimously and rigorously applied). The Board's recommendation only made sense when all recommended RHA increases had been applied, he said, " but how many hauliers can honestly say they have?"
Several hauliers spoken to had adopted a "wait and see " attitude. A spokesman for the Heavy Transport Co. Ltd., of St. Austell, for instance, said that his group's usual procedure was to negotiate separately with customers: but in the present situation they " just hadn't the answers" and were waiting for a lead from the RHA. A similar reply was given by a spokesman of the Pointer Group of Norwich, but suffixed with the remark that there had got to be an increase of some sort now, to keep the businesses going. Executives of the group were meeting yesterday (Thursday) to make a decision.