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Labour and transport

15th May 1982, Page 67
15th May 1982
Page 67
Page 67, 15th May 1982 — Labour and transport
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

THE LABOUR transport policies ... What a load of miserable ideas; nationalisation is the only word they can think of.

Increase fuel tax and vehicle excise duty. .. Don't they know what this will do to goods in the High Street? I put the emphasis on "high" because that's what they will be. Eliminate small operators; what they want is every driver to work for Freightliner. No thanks.

Lorry bans . . . They know that the innocent public backs these steps. How they are all misguided.

Cut back on road spending . . Do they want us to go back to the donkey and cart?

Customer's choice for alternative freight movement .. The only efficient way is by road. British Rail could only move loads on a small scale, but the cost to the taxpayers would be billions and then they could not handle goods fast enough.

Trade union conscription — that's what they would like; I won't say another word. As for ferry crossings, how can they say that they are not coping? Every new ferry and terminal gets bigger and better and only the future can regulate the growth. As for the rest, it's just rubbish, by the people who know naught.

So you know what to do the next time you vote: vote Maggie and keep your fingers crossed. One other thing, owner-driver "cowboys"; don't they know we all have to pass the CPC course? They probably don't know what CPC stands for!

A. KEETON Doncaster Yorkshire

Flexible work hours

I WAS interested in your report "Big 'no' from industry to Govt's holiday plans" (CMApril 24).

I note that the CBI has accepted that there is a need for broader examination of the whole concept of Bank Holidays, and hope to encourage greater flexibility in their arrangment. I would respectfully like to suggest that we in road haulage perform a service complying with the dictates of our customers, and rightly so, but I must point out that there seems to be a possibility of greater flexibility being required if the trend towards flexi-time working gains more favour in this country.

Already it is being adopted in some European countries, and one hears in one's travels of flexi-weeks, months or even years as a management revolution sweeps office and factory alike! In Germany 12 companies are experimenting with flexible working years. An employee who agrees to work for 1,200 hours a year could attend work for only 120 days and work 10 hours a day. Many companies in Europe have already tried flexi-time in one way or another, and most of those surveyed wanted to maintain or extend the system.

I am not advocating these changes. Indeed, I view them with some concern, but even with the upturn in trading which must come soon, we look like being faced with large numbers of unemployed throughout the civilised world as new technologies takeover in office, factories, warehouse, shops etc.

Yet, through it all, a heavy vehicle will still require the constant attention of a skilled operative behind the wheel. One hopes that if flexi-time operations grow they will not seriously affect road haulage conditions, but perhaps we ought to be giving some thought to the matter and how to deal with it should present practices have to be drastically changed? NIGEL BREEZE Southend-on-Sea

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