• Union Official May Not Meet Committee
Page 45
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ALTHOUGH Southport Town Council had been advised by the transport committee to allow a trade-union official to appear before the general purposes committee to put forward a case for a conductor dismissed for an alleged irregularity concerned with his tickets, the council last week rejected the official's request to do so.
The recommendation was rejected in spite of a statement by Cllr. R. Molyneux that there was "considerable uneasiness and dissatisfaction" among the corporation's bus workers about the conductor's dismissal.
After hearing an official of the man's union, the transport committee decided in May to reinstate the 'conductor, but after a debate in private the council later rejected the proposal.
Last week, Sir Herbert Barber, chairman of the finance committee, said that the council would be creating a most dangerous precedent by allowing a tradeunion representative to address the general purposes committee. " It would be a retrograde step to allow any tradeunion official• to come before this council to address it on a domestic matter," he added.
TRAILING-ARM AIR SUSPENSION
PAA ROBUST independent trailing-arm air suspensioh system for semitrailer axles is being produced by Greuter. of Switzerland. Two boxsection trailing arms pivot about the ends of a tubular cross-member rigidly located beneath the chassis frame at wheelcentre height.
At the end of each arm is a circular air bellows, metal-bound to give two convolutions. The top of the bellows abuts against a metal plate bolted to the lower chassis flange. Damping is effected by telescopic shock absorbers mounted directly in front of the air bags. A linkage to operate the height control and compensating valves is connected to the extreme end of the trailing-arms.
Elimination of the need for additional arms to locate the axle should make this type of air suspension cheaper than those using solid beam axles. The manufacturers also claim that smaller air bellows and an air reservoir of lower capacity than are usual are required.
COURSES IN TRANSPORT
EVENING courses in preparation for the examinations of the Institute of Transport will be held by the City of London College, Department, of Shipping and Commercial Products, from September 22. The two parts of the graduateship course include English, statistics, the elements of transport, economics, modern economic history and law. The associate membership course deals with the law of inland transport, transport finance and accounting and economics.
Full details are obtainable from the College, at Moorgate, London, E.C.2. Enrolment should be made on September 15, 16 or 17.