W.D. Repudiates Haulage Contracts
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Disgraceful State of Affairs Disclosed at London Meeting of Hauliers. Action Against the Crown Possible
EITERATED cries of "shame" " punctuated the discussion, on Wednesday of last week, of rates and conditions of haulage contracts which had been entered into with the War Department.
The occasion was a meeting called by Mr. Allan Simpson, of Allan Simpson, Ltd., to discuss the extraordinary position which had arisen since the outbreak of war. There were between 50 and 60 hauliers present, all from the Metropolitan Area, and including many leaders of the industry, such as Messrs. Pollitzer, McDonall
Rusholm Brown (Eltharrt), Francis and Porter (Tottenham).
The meeting was a non-association one, but Mr. Kinder and Mr. Jardine of A.R.O. were there. Mr. H. Norman Letts attended, at Mr. Simpson's request, so that he could give the meeting the benefit of his views on the legal aspect of this curious situation.
Big Sum Involved.
• It appears that officers at the various camps who have hired vehicles at agreed terms are now repudiating the contracts they have made. They are asserting that the rates agreed upon are excessive and, failing reductions, are refusing to settle accounts. There is approximately £60,000 at stake.
Several of the hauliers present stated that their accounts were in the neighbourhood of 24,000—one of them told our representative that his bill was in excess of 214,000.
In one instance the amount received was 296 out of an account for 27,600; in another, nothing at all out of 21,800. One haulier almost shamefacedly confessed that he had received 22,100 out of 24,200.
Perhaps Mr. Letts's statement throws the best light on the subject. He said that 30 hauliers had placed their accounts in his hands and asked for advice. In almost every case he was of the opinion that they had just grounds for action against the Crown and, in his view, it would be a good plan to prepare "Petitions of Rights," so that the truth of the matter could be made known to the public.
He said that there were three classes of case :— (1) Those that involved definite contracts which had been entered into at specified rates. Applications for payment were met •by the response that the person who signed the contract on behalf of the W.D. had no authority to .do so.
(2) Those involving contracts which had been signed by accredited officers, subject to rates which had subsequently been circulated. Here the retort was that the rates were unauthorized.
(3) Cases in which no agreement had been entered into about rates, but where the haulier asked for interim payments on the scale recommended by the Ministry of Trans port in circular Z13-3A. Request for payment on that basis has been met, first, by denial of knowledge of the circular and, later, when it is brought to the notice of the officer concerned, by the reply that he knew of it, but " not officially."
Exploiting the Position.
Extreme indignation was manifest when it was reported that one officer, in the course of a discussion of these rates, said that the original agreement was made at a time when there was a big demand for hauliers' services, in the conveyance of sand for A.R.P. purposes and similar work. Now, as the result of petrol rationing and other difficulties beyond their control, but arising out of the war, hauliers were not in such a favourable position and would, therefore, be willing to compromise.
As indication of the kind of com promise now expected, such rates as 45s. per day for a 4-ton lorry, 40s. for a 24-tonner and 30s. for a 2-ton vehicle were mentioned.
S.T.R. (The Commercial Motor costs and rates expert), who had been invited to prepare a fair schedule of rates for the conditions under which these vehicles were hired, stated that he had formulated such a scale and that it did not differ materially, as regards day rates and overtime, from those which were set out in a circular letter dated September 5, issued by some of the Army Commands.
He thought that the rates set out in the circular letter for a 24-hour
day were a little high. • S.T.R. was asked whether he had taken into consideration the fact that one driver was standing by all the time, so that his wages for a week, on tht appropriate scale, with provision for overtime, approximated to 214. He said that he had not done so, but had assumed three drivers per vehicle. He promised to look into the rates again and to re-assess them.
Major Simpson replied on behalf of the War Department. He said that there was no intention of belittling the services rendered by hauliers, or of behaving unfairly in any way. He regretted that any subordinate officer should have taken up the attitude described.
After going into the history of the W.D. demand for hired lorries, since the commencement of the war, and giving reasons for the extreme urgency which arose in the beginning, he turned to the vexeclquestion of rates.
Rate-fixing Difficulties.
He said that, in his opinion, it was not practicable to fix a flat rate for the hire of lorries which should be applicable throughout the country. Local agreements would have to be made, which would take into consideration local conditions, especially rates of wages paid.
Major Simpson declared that the W.D. did not accept the schedule of interim payments recommended by the Ministry of Transport as applicable to Army contracts.
He added that instructions had been issued that hauliers should be met and agreements completed as quickly as possible and, himself, offered to deal with specific complaints if they were forwarded to him, either through the associations or addressed to him at Room 246, the War Office, Whitehall, London, S.W.1. He expressed the opinion that, in future, all contracts would be awarded on a competitive basis.
This procedure was objected to by hauliers present, on the ground that it would tend to perpetuate a trouble which they were striving to stamp out, namely, rate-cutting by irresponsible members of the industry. The 'War Department, it was pointed out, needed reliable vehicles and it would not get them if it merely acquired lorries on the basis of the lowest tender.