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AM PLEASED to be able to say that lain Sherriff's criticism of the Road Haulage Association in the matter of national strikes is not shared by the Association's membership which, through its national council, expressed appreciation for the continuing efforts of the RHA permanent staff to promote the interests of employers and their employees during the strikes.
You have chosen to ignore certain facts in your evidently hastily written Editorial (CM "The Forgotten Men").
Fact: The RHA has fully supported two of its members in the Western District who have chosen to fight the unions in the courts. The national dailies realise this. Why not you since you purport to pass news to the industry?
Fact: During the docks strike RHA officials appeared regularly on national radio and TV in full and robust support of the strikebound drivers. Why have you chosen to ignore that fact?
Fact: The RHA was in communication with the Transport and General Workers Union and the Secretary of State for Transport in an effort on the one hand to persuade the union to call off the dock strike and other other to persuade the Government to intervene. Hardly the hallmark of a low profile.
It has to be admitted that we did not fill a car with beer and copies of Road Way to take to the mainly foreign drivers stranded at Dover. We did not think such action was called for (but where was CM when the RHA sent hundreds of pounds worth of warm clothing to the drivers during the French lorry blockades?).
We did, however, have an RHA official at Dover who reported to us during the critical periods of the strike and we were in constant telex communication with Continental hauliers' organisations. We will continue to do everything possible to ease the lot of our members affected by the miners' strike.
I will pay you the compliment of expecting this letter to be published in full — CM does not lack guts — but do please reread your Kipling and check the facts ("the Files") before you sound off at us all in future. F. PLASKETT Director-general Road Haulage Association London SW6 • What a pity the RHA did not tell us what it was doing while the association was doing it and not two weeks after the event. — Editor.