Labour to back drivers
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• Labour's shadow minister for transport Joan Walley is to campaign for improved pay and conditions for drivers.
Although Walley could not attend the Drivers Action Movement's fourth meeting at Felixstowe on Sunday (10 July), she has asked pressure group DAM to prepare a report based on its 10-point charter. This includes calls for fixed, higher rates and fewer hours.
Paul Gentle, DAM's Yorkshire spokes man, says: "We are excited that Joan has decided to take up our cause to stop drivers being exploited.
"Rates are being kept low: we estimate that they have decreased by 20% over the past seven years, and yet prices at major truckstops have rocketed. Parking fees have also increased considerably," claims Gentle.
The group is set to improve its media profile to attract sponsorship: "We are not a union and we aren't trying to be one," says Gentle, "nor are we a membership group. We have received donations, but these are confidential."