Dissuade newcomers,
Page 4
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says RHA chairman
by CM reporter
THE economic blizzard had not spared road haulage, said Mr Ken Hatcher, national chairman, at the annual dinner of the Road Haulage Association in London on Tuesday. Increases in costs had been staggering: in the eight months July 1974 to February 1975 they went up by 19.33 per cent, and a letter which he was sending to all members— and urged them to heed— would take the "disagreeable account" on to the end of April.
The only sensible advice the Association could give was stark and simple : cut the fleets to match the tonnage on offer; refuse to work for uneconomic rates however great the temptation; and seek to dissuade newcomers, by whatever means were possible, from entering the industry while the amount of traffic was declining.
Added Mr Hatcher: "Every business failure is another victory for those whose only interest is the collapse of our democratic way of life."
Earlier Mr Hatcher had expressed amazement that, at this time of crisis, anyone could even contemplate provoking the unheaval that would result from leaving the Common Market. Membership could not cure all our troubles but RHA members took the long-term view that it made economic sense.
Referring to Mr Mulley's presence as principal guest, Mr Hatcher said he welcomed the LA's new powers to refuse a licence to an applicant without suitable premises, but guidance was needed on the meaning of "suitable." Operators had a legal as well as a moral obligation to have well maintained lorries but they should be under an obligation to prove this. The RHA, said Mr Hatcher, would have to see the licensing system tightened still further, while the Minister had not yet heard the last of the industry's arguments for making "due diligence" a defence against charges of vehicle overloading.