Obligation to Age
Page 32
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A DISTRESSING problem besets road trans..port operators in the ageing driver or conductor who has given good service for many years but is unable to continue his normal duties. Opportunities for transferring men to light work are strictly limited and are probably fewer in road haulage than in. bus operation. Moreover, because of the heavy lifting that a lorry driver may have to do, it is likely that he may have to quit the wheel sooner than his colleague in passenger transport: A survey of the question as it affects bus workers has been undertaken by Mr. F. Le Gros Clark on behalf of the Nuffield Foundation. It is based on a study of the records of the industrial lives of 300 busmen from the age of 60 upwards, but has a wider application than purely passenger transport.
The problem is likely to become even more acute during the next 10 years, for the proportion of older men in transport, as in many other industries. may rise perceptibly. In that event, the number of applicants for transfer to lighter work will presumably increase, but the number of available light jobs is not likely to expand proportionately.
• Mr. Clark's investigation suggests that at present some 13 per cent, of applicants for light duty must fail to find suitable employment in transport. That is the measure of the problem to be faced in the future.
it is most pressing in respect of the large body of men who lie between sickness and ability to do a normal job. The country has a great responsibility for them and cannot, indeed, afford to waste their services and experience. It is possible that commercial-vehicle manufacturers might be able to absorb some of the able-bodied older men from the operating side, but more positive action is needed nationally to ensure that valuable labour is not thrown prematurely on the scrap heap.