Presented by Alex Kitson CHAIRMAN of the Labour Party, Alex
Page 29
Page 30
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Kitson, in presenting his paper on industrial relations, dealt with the state of the industry and Government involvement. Before looking at the trade union role he discussed what he saw as the troubles in the operation of transport and its general administration.
He attacked the Government's policy and reminded the Conference that an important component of the Conservative election manifesto in 1979 was to release the stranglehold that public ownership had over the private sector.
"Disengage the State, and a new, vigorous capitalism, hungry for profit, sleek with efficiency, would arise in its place," he quoted from the Conservative Manifesto.
"This mangificent creature is, of course, still pacing up and down in Sir Keith Joseph's mind. It has not yet appeared in the ravaged British industrial scene, and there must now be serious doubts whether it ever will. The Government has made too many other major misjudgements and blunders for their strategy on 'privatisation' to work.
"Indeed, with the economy still crawling along at the bottom of the trough, we must knock on the head the idea that this Government is capable of anything but a timely exit. Let me first list the effects of Tory rule," he said.
Mr Kitson said that industrial output has fallen by ten per cent during the term of this Government. He said that investment lad fallen away — down by nine 3er cent in manufacturing in 1980, with the Government's 3wn estimates showing a fall :wice that size for this year.
"Unemployment has doubled, )1more than doubled. Rather han the offical figure, which it )uts unemployment over 21/2 nillion, we should really be alking of some three million out )f work. This would take into ac:ount the huge drop in those acually registering for work: lundreds of thousands of )eople have become so demoraised by this Government-inluced crisis that they are not !ven signing on," said Mr Kiton.
Mr Kitson related the unemrloyment situation to the road haulage industry. "People here today will be on first hand terms with the effects of Government policy: there is not enough work to go round, there are too many vehicles chasing too few loads, rates are being cut, and those vehicles that are going out are probably travelling with uneconomic load," he declared.
Mr Kitson reminded the delegates that the road haulage industry was a service industry, dependent for its success on the level of activity in the rest of the economy. "Road haulage cannot just go out there and drum up orders and loads, it has to react to the rest of the economy."
He said that because of the relative ease of entry into road haulage, any upturn in demand is met with a sudden mushrooming or vehicles — often owner-drivers. And conversely, when demand fell, there are vehicles standing idle.
Mr Kitson believes that road transport requires planning and co-ordination.
On the industrial relations. front he said that employers are applying pressure on their drivers to work illegally. The threat of unemployment in areas with no opportunity for alternative work leaves the driver with little choice. He went on. "Where pay cuts have been enforced, or even worse, where time and overtime has been replaced by payments based on the earnings of the vehicle, the incidence of illegal working hours increases."
He argued it was no accident that road haulage was joining many other transport sectors under attack from Government policy. "There seems to be this extraordinary idea that transport is not an essential service to society, that it should be subject to all the vagaries of the market. Because that's where the Government's thinking, and legislation, will inevitably lead."
He said that the new National Freight Company represents one step along that road. "Instead of a National Freight Corporation, which represented a big improvement in the provision of co-ordinated transport services, this company will mean the rationalisation and redundancy that we have seen all too often before.
"It will mean the concentration of profit centres, rather than the integration of an entire system. Many of the socially useful services will be driven to the wall."
Mr Kitson said that before anything else there was a pressing need to sort out the mess in road haulage. Then he turned his attention to the Armitage Report. "The only people who stand to gain anything out of the Report are the employers, and even then, it's so riddled with contradictions that this gain is suspect," he argued.
He believes the Report has simply set aside any interests that the workers in the road haulage industry have, and set aside also any implications that heavier lorries may have for industrial relations. And as for environmental damage, the only point at which the issue has any force in Armitage's assessment is where lorry weights above 32 tons result in bridges falling down and traffic having to be rerouted.
"In detail, we have seven points of objection," and then listed them.
1. The report recommends that the maximum length of lorries be increased by enough to allow for sleeper cabs to be fitted in vehicles. The TGWU has always been opposed to sleeper cabs, and always will be.
2. The unavoidable result of bigger lorries will be less jobs, and that again can only meet with our opposition.
3. The report dodges the issue of maximum speeds: on the continent, where 44-tonners are only allowed under strict controls, speeds have been kept low. The safety argument in Armitage, relevant for both drivers and the public, is completely whitewashed.
4. Fully loaded lorries might be more economic, but the Report itself implies that many big lorries would be running without full loads. There is a lot of evidence to show that when the last major move to bigger lorries took place, the actual use of the extra capacity was way below potential.
The problem of matching loads to vehicles increases with the larger vehicle, and there is every likelihood that the trend will continue: after all, hauliers prefer to operate equipment capable of carrying any load offered. The biggest lorries would still be running at lower than maximum capacity, at an efficiency probably less than that for a loaded 32-tonner.
5. Thousands of drivers are likely to finish up driving not 40tonners, but 32-tonners uprated, without satisfactory technical controls, to 34 tons, and . will be five-axle 38and 40 ners which employers will 1 operate without extra pa satisfactory controls.
6. Nowhere does the rs seriously take on board the s ment for improved condil for drivers, or for lorry parke facilities which could be drivers and minimise 'morn ence to the public.
7. The report does not with a fully integrated trans policy that we have been a ing for all these years, "It': the positive appraoch to problems of the transport in try that I now want to con trate," said Mr Kitson.
He believed that steps shi be taken to make joint repre tation to the Government or effects of their policies on road haulage industry, par larly where hire and rewar concerned, "We have to ma clear that unless relief is vided, there will not be a vi. industry in the future."
Mr Kitson said that bearin mind the state of the industr should also be pressing Minister to impose a mor rium on the issue of Operat licences. This would include fusing existing Restric Licence holders a Stand Licence to engage in hire reward work.
He felt that the entire indu should oppose the grantinc each and every application. said that existing operation: ready have provision wi. their licence to increase t vehicles or trailers to meet growth in traffic. "Any incre in Standard Licences themsel only increases the competil for too few loads," he said.
"We also need to convince Government of the need persuade the EEC Commis: to provide funds for incorr tent and small-time operator leave the industry. It has b done in other industries there is no argument aga such a scheme in road hauls It would be a more sensible s( tion then relying on bankrt ties to reduce the level of cc ion," he argued.
• Kitson went on to discuss Regulation No 543/69, :h he said was devised to act the railways against petition from road trans. It is not, and never will, be ible legislation to regulate ars' hours and rest periods le United Kingdom. Instead 43/69 we need a ten-hour duty day" and a 60-hour .duty week", to provide the essary variations in the kly rest period under certain litions, according to Mr Kit1. We should take the riple of the Dutch — and the Fench also — who have ied 543/69 to suit their onal journeys. Unless the 'mission can enforce 543/69 all member states then we uld not be singled out for its ncement in isolation," he n rates, Mr Kitson said it was antial that minimum rates are aed and enforced. He proad the establishment of a onal body consisting of both m of industry to enforce is. But he felt it was no use eing to the Government to rose regulations, "rather it is Jestion of standing up to the rernment in order to save at part of the road haulage ustry."
his opinion any company, le or small, that undercuts on agreed rates should be faced h any joint action necessary enforce the minimum rate /Ir Kitson believes, under nor1 conditions, competition can good for both customer and )plier. "The present situation is not normal," he said. "Too many firms are in deep crisis, and without determined help, they will go to the wall."
As for manufacturers imposing less than economic rates on contractors, he felt similar action must also be taken. The major disagreements between haulier and owner drivers on rate cutting must be overcome, and unity in the face of the economic circumstances really should be a priority, he said.
He then turned his attention to the need to co-ordinate transport with the rest of the economy, and to devise a realistic plan for the development of the many different sectors within transport.
Mr Kitson declared "The economy is in ruins." But he felt that despite all the damage that has been done, there is a way out. "There is an alternative which will steadily grow in credibility as the months pass, he believed.
"It is an alternative founded, as many of you will be aware, on a big expansion of the economy, on industrial recovery, on massive investment in manufacturing industry, on using the resources provided by North Sea Oil to cut unemployment by providing productive jobs, on increasing public spending on essential services, and on holding the line on imports, so that any increase in demand is met from British resources," he said.
In his view, the "go for growth" plans of past Govern
ments were usually last-ditch attempts to save an ailing administration. he was arguing for a fully co-ordinated plan that maps out the way forward in a realistic and hard-headed way, and takes into account all the factors that cause problems.
He said that transport has always been an area that has left behind other industries in such planning. "This time we have to get it right. To begin with there have to be the roads available to carry the extra traffic — and those roads have to be in a state of repair that can take a burst of economic activity. Roads to the new factory sites will have to be built."
He said there will have to be co-ordination between lorrymakers like BL, and the road haulage industry; co-ordination between all the industries which provide materials for building the roads; and, co-ordination between the transport and energy industries. In his view it will not just be a question of setting targets, and hoping optimistically that these targets will be fulfilled.
"We are looking this time for a far greater degree of Government involvement, and overnment compulsion if necessary. And clearly, the effects of the Transport Act, which as I argued earlier have been completely retrograde, will have to be undone, and public ownership reinstated and extended," he declared.
This raises the issue of planning within the transport industry, he said. The conflict between owner-drivers and contractors had to be resolved, he said, to get the correct balance between all transport sectors. "We want to see, in fact, the creation of a National Transport Authority," he said.
Mr Kitson believes that a further, vital component has been missing in talk of co-ordinated planning. That is the role of the trades unions. "I want to finish off with some thoughts about the need for the full involvement of trade union represenatives in every stage, and at every level of transport policy," he said.
He said the Government had tried to crush trades union organisation. The Employment Act sought to undermine collective strength, and to erode the rights of individual trade unionists. This was, in his view, precisely the wrong way to improve the industrial relations atmosphere. Greater involvement and more widespread organistiaon of working people was what was required. He felt that many employers who already have union membership agreements knew that the union wants to see as many drivers as possible brought into organised collective bargaining. He said the continuing existence of the cowboys and the fly-bynights is in no-ones's best interests: not even their own in the long run.
"If we want to see an industry with good wages, good conditions, good results and good industrial relations, we want agreements signed between the management and the workforce which cover the whole industry, and which are adhered to. Nonunionised workplaces are holding up progress in the industry, and we will see, I am sure, an extension of union membership agreements in the future," he believed.
The TGWU does not just want everyone in the union, it wants to be fully involved in every as pact of the working of the trans, port industry with represent& tives involved in detailec company planning and at the highest level of nationa planning. He said it was no gooc trying to introduce changes ove: peoples' heads, or running suck an important industry ID) pretending that the workforce did not exist.
A democratic approach tc problems was the only way tc avoid constant industrial rela tions aggravation.
"If people are consulted involved and invited to partici pate in a genuine way before during and after any change then their co-operation is as sured — and all their skills are experience can be utilised. If de cisions are taken, and then th, attempt is made to impose then from above, that is the route t: disaster," he warned.
Mr Kitson believed that he ha, discussed the current state c
the industry and the need fc immediate action to improve th situation and had spelt out loner-term approach to th deeper problems. He said h could not provide all the are wers but hoped he had pointe the direction in which the indut try should be going.