Compensation! Ifs a joke
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ARTHUR KNOWLES from Birkenhead will be recognised by those who watched ITN's news bulletins during the crisis as the leader of the British contingent of drivers camped out in the Sports Hall at Sallanches.
His experience of the French Government's compensation fund reveals yet another example of the erratic way in which the monies were administered.
Admittedly, he did receive the FFr2,000 so widely quoted, but he was promised like many of his colleagues a free round-trip through the Mont Blanc Tunnel and a voucher for the motorway tolls on the trip home. Such bounty is not to be sneezed at, coming to nearly £100.
This might seem like the gilt on the gingerbread, particularly if you work for an enlightened employer as Arthur does and suffered no loss of wages.
However, extra expenses mount up and these were equal to the FFr2,000. If Arthur had received the free passes to the tunnel and the autoroute, he would have felt comfortable in setting off his extras against th( hand out. Now he is faced with dilemma: keep the francs and submit an extra expense claim or lose out and return the franc to his employer.
Whatever the particular outcome in Arthur's case, this problem will remain for both employer and employed. What was the FFr2,000 intended for? To compensate the drivers for additional expenses or the employer for lost revenue?
Perhaps it was neither and was simply intended as a way dealing with the more awkwan drivers or for the sake of the IT TV cameras.