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Back door nationalisation
Page 4
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The introduction of the clause in the Transport Bill at present at committee stage in Parliament which would authorise British Rail to carry goods by road for hire and reward must be vig'orously opposed and defeated by all sane thinking MPs.
Having bowed to British Rail by handing them back Freightliners Limited, made successful by NFC after a disastrous start by BR, the Government now proposes to allow the permanent way men to enter the highly flexible road transport industry.
The railway servants are eminently unsuited for this type of work — they do not even begin to think in flexible terms. Already a big loss-maker, BR would become a serious financial drain on the British taxpayer if it entered into road haulage. This is madness and must not be allowed to develop.
What is the thinking behind the move? It cannot be a safeguard against an NUR strike, since the Freightliner lorry drivers would also be NUR members. It must be seen as a back door extension of nationalisation of road haulage. What, we wonder, will the TGWU have to say about what amounts to a loss of work for its members?
We urge Bill Rodgers to think again, we implore Norman Fowler to make his voice heard in the strongest possible terms and we / advise Moss Evans of TGWU not to ignore this act of crass stupidity. In commercial terms it is crazy and in political terms it is general election suicide.