Hauliers want to step up action to blockade ports
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• by David Craik and Charles Young
British hauliers are prepared to launch a series of French-style blockades, shutting down the UK's major ports, motorways and cities in a bid to save the nclustry from collapse.
In an exclusive Commercial Motor survey of hauliers at this week's demonstration in Park Lane, London, 75% declared that more militant French-style action was their only remaining hope of stopping the Government's fuel duty escalator.
Many of those questioned said that far more hauliers would have attended the demonstration if the action had been more militant—around 500 were present on Monday.
"Drivers are close to breaking point on this," says Nigel Curtis of Europa. "Most are keen to start the blockading of the ports and docks. They think what else have they go to lose?"
A common view expressed in CM'S survey was that the industry forum—in which the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association met DOT and Treasury
officials last week—would go nowhere. One Muller commented: "If Dr John Reid was any good at being a doctor he would still be one. So what makes him think he knows anything about haulage?"
Progress
This warning from hauliers comes despite assurances
from both the RHA and ETA that good progress was made at the first meeting of the industry forum. The associations say that Transport Minister John Reid and representatives from the Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry are "recognising for the first time that there are major concerns within the industry".
David Green, director-general of the ETA, says: "The first meeting was very encouraging. They showed an intention to realise the objectives. We agreed that we won't get anywhere by firing off different sets of statistics—the first task is to clarify the numbers."
The forum is to appoint external advisors to investigate the industry's claims that it is on the brink of a catastrophe. Ministers have also admitted they did not assess the impact of differences in the rate of duty within the EU before the Budget.
The other main issue to be disc'ussed is whether the UK could introduce a system of vignettes as operated on the Continent (see panel, right).
Steven Norris, director-general of the RHA, describes the meeting as "very constructive and helpful". However, he slams the report by accountants KPMG, on which the Government has so far relied in its denials of the industry's crisis, as "laughable".
Norris also wants working hauliers at the next forum. "Justice has not just got to be done, it has to be seen to be done," he says.
Rift
Norris denies rumours of a rift between the RHA and the FTA following the RHA's show of support for this week's protest. RHA national chairman John Bridge allied himself with TransAction after the first meeting of the industry forum, provided it stays within the law.
Both the RHA and TransAction campaigner Frank Stears have distanced themselves from more militant action: "We do not want blockades, we want talks," says Stears.
Norris warns hauliers thinking about militant action not to "ruin the excellent progress made by the industry so far". He describes any attempt to launch blockades as "insane".
The FTA has always been sceptical towards protests and confirmed this week that it felt they would harden both the Government's and the public's reaction to the hauliers' plight. It refused to comment on the RHA's alliance with Trans-Action, Transport Minister John Reid again spoke out against the protests, confirming the Government's commitment "not to be held to ransom by protest action". But he added that he will "continue to work with the industry". What is perhaps more worrying for hauliers is Reid's appearance on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme on the morning of the protest in which he restated the Government's line that there is no crisis in the industry, citing figures from KPMG.
The next forum meeting is expected in about a month, but there will be a number of bilateral meetings and other contacts in that time.
Downing Street
The London demonstration, which was backed up by truck convoy protests in Edinburgh, Exeter, Newcastle, Manchester, Truro and Middlesbrough. started at around 10:00hrs with about 500 trucks blocking two lanes north and southbound on Park Lane.
This was followed by a speech at Marble Arch given by John Bridge and a march to Downing Street where TransAction and the RHA delivered a letter to number 10 (see Letters, page 24).
In all it is estimated that more than 2,000 trucks were involved in the day's activities.
• Hauliers face even larger fuel bills as the price of crude oil continues to rise. Crude prices have risen by 400.,o over the past four weeks and fuel wholesalers are coming under pressure to raise their selling price.
Butler Fuels, which supplies bulk fuels to operators, warns: "Retail prices have already started to go up by between 2-3p a litre and bulk prices will go up in exactly the same way."