Industry must pay for 'free transport system
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INDUSTRY must he prepared to pay the proper price for road transport services provided by independent hauliers or risk seeing them "ossify into a nationalized monopoly". This was the main message of an attack on the nationalization principle made on Saturday by Mr Ken Hatcher, chairman of the Road Haulage Assojation, speaking at the Association's northern area annual dinner.
It was clear that the haulage industry's cus tomers in trade and industry were opposed to a State transport takeover. They and the people who worked in transport could see no advantages to be gained and saw that in some ways they might he worse off.
"However, none of this is likely to change the Government's basic policy and our customers must assist us if they wish us to survive," said Mr Hatcher. They could demonstrate their faith in a "vigorous and competi tive" road haulage indus-1 try by being reasonably receptive to approaches by operators for increased charge's.
"If our customers refuse to pay the rates which we need in order to survive they will wake up one morning to find that the 'road haulage industry' has moved on to some less barren ground. We all know who will be waiting in the vacuum, waving the party manifesto as the title deed," he said