High Wages ay Dividend in Haulage
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P. A. C. BROCKINGTON, A.M.I.Mech.E., Reveal that
Investigations by
A LTHOUGH satisfied by A cumulative evidence that freeenterprise transport offers the ost efficient service, there are many mpathizers w h o would b a tounded at some of the results of gh-wage policies which I have seen my tours of the West Country, mth Wales and of the Midlands. To be shown the detailed cost
;ures of a number of transwt concerns and to find a .ulier paying his men double e weekly wage paid by the aad Haulage Executive, pro ling a far more reliable service, 'crating at nearly half the cost per ti-mile, taking on work that itish Road Services deems economic, observing the regularis, maintaining a high standard vehicle appearance, allowing days
• with pay without question for any lid purpose and, moreover, transring to the inland revenue a fficient sum partly to offset his ief competitor's efficiency—this ,uld appear too good to be true. But it happens, or something very a it, in a sufficient number of cases point the moral that the individual
be encouraged to pull twice his ight and enjoy it.
Big Bonuses
lonus grants equal to double and net imes treble the normal wage being paid by concerns with a hly competitive rates schedule. hauliers are unwilling to be 'ted in print, because their torners might object, despite pracil proof that their policy resents sound economy.
Ionic hauliers are still engaged on g-distance runs, operating a ilar service to that provided by
A haulier who operates five ides on daily return trips of riy 200 miles told me that he id reduce' his charges £100 a nth below the R.H.E. rate and te an:adecaiate profit.
,ightweight vehicles with a 30 ..h. limit were purchased for the and each is fitted -with' special ices for quick loading and aading of the heavy equipment ied. Time spent at the dispatch receiving bays is reduced to a !, minimum, the drivers work well in the stipulated hours and draw iandsome bonus without over!.
he R.H.E. lorries carry a similar "age per vehicle, but are all .avies " with a 20 m.p.h. speed t. Being units in a highly grated system, backloads must ,und for them and the goods at factory dispatch bay block the ted available spate pending their
reappearance. It was reported that the B.R.S. vehicles had literally missed the boat on a number of occasions and that important overseas deliveries had been held up.
On a visit to a railway goods yard to watch the activities of another haulier, I timed the turn-round of an articulated vehicle delivering four large assemblies of irregular shape. The body was fitted with location chock rails and quick-release lashing straps, designed to facilitate removal, and, with the help of a mobile crane, three men completed the unloading in under four minutes.
It might well have been described as a " precision " job; the men obviously regarded it as such and were • paid a precision wage (with bonus) of more than double the flat rate. The vehicle was one of a small fleet operating a service similar to that of B.R.S., which employs a larger number of vehicles taking longer to move a lesser tonnage, and often failing to arrive on time.
Driver Earns E24 a Week .Quoling from the wage sheets of a haulier operating a tipper fleet, I was met by jeers of disbelief when I was talking in a group which included a number of legal men, One driver collected over £24 at the end of the Week, of which not more than • 25s. represented an extra for overtime'. Bonus payments to six drivers averaged £7 in the week. A crane driver received a bonus of over £10. Nevertheless, the vehicle running costs were remarkably low, the average figure for a seven-mile haul and return being less 'than 2s. per ton, excluding overheads but inclusive of crane charges.
Disbelievers have advanced the view that such wages could be paid only if the drivers worked for longer than the stipulated hours and flogged their vehicles continuously. I am satisfied that these• suggestions are unwarranted.
In'the eases which I have investi
gated, each man's bonus is based on the earning capacity of his vehicle, and, in the event of a prolonged breakdown, his loss financially is a large part of his normal total wage, He is educated to the knowledge that careful handling and moderate speeds produce the best overall results. He is constantly reminded of this by the mechanics, who are each paid a bonus in proportion to the earn ing capacity of the fleet.
The average is about £3 a week for the higher grades and El a week for the apprentices. Maintenance is planned to prevent breakdowns. Everyone works to the same end—freedom from trouble.
Admittedly, these few examples are but fragments, chosen because indisputable evidence in the form of cost sheets and drivers' statements could be checked in detail. It has not been possible, for various reasons, to describe the entire organization of any one concern. Many progressive hauliers are unwilling to confirm cost and wages figures for fear of R.H.E. prejudice.
Inflexible Labour Do these success stories—for they are no less—suggest that new principles have been applied? I am not digressing when I repeat the warning of a well-known economist, who has said that the country will decline to a second-rate nation if the present inflexibility of labour continues
Ability to master new skills must not be lost in an age of specialization and mass production. All the hauliers mentioned are organized units with upwards of 20 vehicles and their example is not one which can be lightly dismissed as inapplicable to the transport industry generally. Flexibility is the common denominator of all these concerns paying high wages.
No one is too proud to do the other man's job and everyone is willine to undertake work, such as building and painting, in slack periods. Nothing is by-passed because it is someone else's responsibility It is realized by every employee that coooeration pays, both internally and with outside concerns.
Above all—and I wish to emphasize the force of this observation— all these hauliers are knawl■>deeable people who !Menai to assimilate new skills every day: this amities in appropriate degrees alsg to their staffs and emnlovees. In a single sentence it mioht he said that exact attention to backed by an incentive bonus, explains the success story. That is why the RI-1.E. will never be nhle to eciull the service given to industry
by private enterprise. .