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Freedom versus

15th June 1973, Page 28
15th June 1973
Page 28
Page 28, 15th June 1973 — Freedom versus
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

controls by John Darker

Institute of Work Study Practitioners discuss EEC transport policy

• In a notably candid address, Dr A. H. Reinarz, formerly principal adviser to. the EEC director-general for transport, said he wished the Commission had followed the general rules of competition of the Community and paid rather less regard to the ambiguous transport rules. If the Commission had taken the issue to the European Court, and a favourable verdict had been reached, the development of transport policy in the Community would have been more satisfactory. As it was there was no system to promote consistent policies for transport in the EEC.

Dr Reinarz was speaking to the third meeting of the transport and distribution group of the Institute of Work Study Practitioners in London, on Tuesday. The conference was opened by Mr Keith Speed, Joint Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of the DoE. Other main speakers were Dr B. T. Warner, chief of economic and marketing services of the National Freight Corporation, and Mr D. Bowick, chief executive, railways, British Railways Board.

Dr Reinarz said he had volunteered, with other colleagues to retire from his post at Brussels to make room for senior staff from the new member countries. As a Dutchman, he supported the open, liberal, transport system favoured by the British and the Dutch, but he still subscribed to the big aims of transport integration. He was opposed to rigid solutions, such as one system for inter-urban transport, preferring solutions or formulae allowing quick adaptations to changing conditions. In his view, private enterprise should not be left out of policies designed to promote co-ordinated investment.

On the controversial question of bracket rates, Dr Reinarz said he favoured a "bracket band" of 30 per cent. Capacity control as a means of investment control contradicted the philosophy of the market. The best statement of transport policy was the 1961 memorandum of the Commission, with which he was in agreement.

Turning to the Community quota system, Dr Reinarz said it reminded him of George Orwell's book, 1984 and its appendix about "Nuspeak". The quota system allowed for the distortion of licensing arrangements and it gave advantage to certain chosen carriers, and nationalities. Any quantitative limitation of licences contradicted the market rules and it brought governments into conflict.

Dr Reinarz thought there was a slight chance, if the three new member countries agreed, that there would be a change in the axle-weight requirements. There had been some "administrative blackmailing". Every country wanted a concession on tonnage or vehicle dimensions. He wondered whether the search for consensus was unnecessary, in the light of the disparity in operating standards and vehicle configurations in America. He quoted the previous Commissioner for Transport, M Albert Copt* as saying that "the EEC was more advanced than America" in standardization of axle loading.

The different working habits of lorry drivers in the member countries would make new rules very difficult to apply and administer, said the speaker. It would be crazy to expect French drivers to put up with a 30-minute break at midday, although German drivers might be content with 20 or 25min.

Dr B. T. Warner, in a reference to EEC regulations on drivers' hours, said these would not affect collection and delivery drivers, on parcels, removals or Freightliner operations who, despite a long working day, drove considerably less than eight hours. But there would be problems with trunk journeys where the whole working day might be spent on driving. With the spread of motorways, the long-distance driver could be affected by the mileage restriction before reaching his maximum hours. If there was any chance of negotiating an increase in the 450km maximum distance to 600km he would support such a move.

12hr spreadover

The Commission's rather complex proposal for a 12-hour spreadover for unaccompanied drivers, reducing to 10 hours within five years, would have a more drastic effect than the drivers' hours regulations on the operations of numerous road haulage firms. It would affect not only the drivers but spread to their supporting ancillary staff, both on the vehicles and at branches.

Bonus schemes, said Dr Warner, had played an important part in improving productivity in the NFC over the past three or four years. If the proposal before the EEC to ban bonus schemes based on tonnage and mileage were adopted the NFC would regret this. Possibly there would 13( a movement towards other and less conventional pay systems, perhaps leading to a salaried status for drivers. The eventual disappearance of bonus schemes might be facilitated by the acceptability of tachographs, though he was dubiou6 about the instrument's reliability, if stories of bent wire adjustments and ever duplicated tachographs were true!


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