RHA deal rejected by union
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TRADE union leaders have rejected Road Haulage Association overtures aimed at getting a national wages negotiating body into operation.
A meeting between Transport. and General Workers' Union general secretary Jack Jones, United Road Transport Union general secretary Jackson Moore and RHA representatives broke up when the union refused to agree to RHA proposals.
The meeting had been called by RHA director general George Newman in the hope of setting up a national wage negotiating machine to replace .the Road Haulage Wages Council.
But TGWU national organiser Jack Ashwell told CM "it would be to both sides' advantage to extend the present system of local negotiations.
"The employers are not inclined to delegate their wages talks anyway — but at least like this they would be done by people the hauliers know," he said.
But the RHA found the result of the meeting "unexpected". In a letter to members of the industrial relations committee, chairman Ted Smith says that "due to the unexpected result of the meeting between unions and the association" he would be calling a meeting of the committee to decide on the next moves.
The Meeting, due to take place on Thursday, is likely to decide what the RHA attitude to the union proposals for an extension of the present assenting hauliers system is to be.
Mr Ashwell said that the TGWU favoured an extension of the present system of assenting hauliers to make the pay agreements more easily enforceable — while still being negotiated by the RHA for the employers.
RHA industrial relations officer Chris Dixon was depressed about the result, "we are back to square one," he said, "but we still have a good working relationship at• top level between myself and Jack Ashwell,