Are British lerators Narrow-Mil cl?
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ECIAL CORRESPONDENT
SOME STRONG WORDS ABOUT EDUCATION AND CO-OPERATION THE forward outlook of the European haulier is strikingly reflected in a skyscraper block in Frankfurt, whieh is the headquarters of the A.G.F., the go-ahead German equivalent of the Road Haulage Association. This 10-storey building was opened in November, 1962, and the property covers some six acres of land. In addition to the office block, there are garages, yards, petrol pumps and servicing facilities, a hotel and restaurant for drivers, a bank, a freight bureau or clearing house, and a shop that offers a wide range of spare parts and equipment at special rates.
There is a similar set-up in each of the Landes of the Federal Republic, and it is quite clear to me that both the R.H.A. and the Traders Road Transport Association have a great deal to learn from the services offered to members by many of the national haulage associations in European countries.
The backwardness of the British system is perhaps most apparent in the field of trade education. In the Netherlands, _ for example, it is compulsory for transport managers to have passed the trade diploma, and all new entrants to the industry must qualify by passing an examination. International hauliers are also obliged by law to take a further paper. The general trend in the European Economic Community is towards a much higher degree of quality and professionalism in the industry, and I believe it would be beneficial if a similar movement developed over here.
So far, the road haulage industry in this country has not been appreciably affected by the modern movement towards specialization which has swept through other industries, and in certain respects its executives are not so competitiveminded-as those in other industries.
Short Courses for Drivers and Managers In Germany
Our industry offers little to compare with the German system of short courses for drivers and managers. As long ago as 1956, the A.G.F., in co-operation with the BZG (Bundeszentral-Genossenschaft Strassenverkehr), the Central Federal Co-operative, established a " Femfahrerschule " (school for long-distance drivers) at Rieneck, in the Spessart mountains. At this transport school, weekly courses are run for long-distance drivers, new entrants to the industry and the wives and daughters of hauliers who work in the family enterprise. (This school was-described in The Commercial Motor of February 2, 1962.)
In addition to these regular courses, special training is given for passenger transport personnel and drivers, and managers of removal firms, short-distance transport and transport on own account. For advanced students, lessons have been introduced this winter on such subjects as legislation for professional road haulage, general regulations applicable to goods transport, transport law, tariffication, accountancy, costing statistics and insurance.
The school curriculum consists of 12 subjects each in courses for the long-distance haulage driver, long-distance haulage operators (women), short-distance haulage driver and operator, and bus driver. There are 16 subjects in the long-distance haulage operator course.
Driving discipline and rules of the road are common to each course, road safety and discipline being the main c32 single aim of the school. Driving itself is not taught or practised, all driving members already being licence holders.
At the end of the course, pupils are tested by a written test, after which they receive a diploma-type document testifying to their attendance at the school. No fail or pass mark is given, but papers are analysed to find the worth of the various lessons.
Schools of sorts are already in existence in France, Switzerland and Austria, but not on the same permanent principle as in Rieneck.
Better Working Conditions on Continent
It is probably not realized that in many ways the conditions of work for drivers in a number of Continental haulage industries are better than those in this country. Generally, the E.E.C. countries spend a larger proportion of their national incomes on social security than we do. The range is from 12-3 per cent in the Netherlands to 20.8 per cent in Germany, and this compares with Britain's 12.1 per cent (The Cost of Social Security, 1949-57. I.L.L.0.).
The British manual worker, too, compares poorly with his Continental counterpart so far as hours of work and length of paid holidays are concerned. At the T.U.C. Conference in 1961, Mr. Cockin of the A.E.U., when putting forward a motion in favour of a minimum of three weeks' annual holiday and eight statutory holidays, pointed out that the British manual workers' 16 or 18 days' holiday compared with 25 to 51 days in France, 25 to 28 days in West Germany, 31 days in Italy, 29 days in Sweden, 22 days in Belgium, 28 days in Holland, 28 to 30 days in Finland and 26 to 27 days in Norway.
Three-year Package Agreement Earlier last year the German employers' association negotiated a " package " agreement with the unions which followed the American pattern in that it was based on three years, thus ensuring a fair deal and long-term stability as regards rates. These agreements illustrate very well the progressive outlook of both the unions and employers, and it is quite clear from a study of them that the employers have taken the trouble to include not only the bare question of wages, but all other aspects affecting the driver which contribute to the overall security of his employment.
A striking contrast is presented to the pathetic annual round of squabbling that occurs in our own industry, when all that is considered is the bare wage and nobody will take the bold step of sitting round the table and drawing up a comprehensive agreement which will offer a bumper deal to the driver and be valid for two or three years, instead of coming up year in and year out for re-negotiation.
A lot is heard nowadays of the so-called threat to the small haulier as a result of the growing rationalization of the industry and the spread of the groups, but nobody appears to be doing much about it. In Germany, Sweden, and other Continental countries they do not sit back; the small haulier gets up and organizes himself through the aegis of his trade association. The cooperative system in Germany provides all hauliers with benefits from a wide range of services which would not be available to them in isolation. At least, as a result of its last conference, the R.H.A. is looking at this activity; other associations are not even looking.
Five Working Associations
The ZAV (Central Federation of the Road Transport Profession) was formed in 1947 and comprises five working associations—AGF (long-distance goods transport), AGN (short-distance goods transport), AMO (removals), AGP (passenger transport) and ASp (forwarding agents and storage).
These five associations are composed of the corresponding regional groups in the various German Federal States. Direction of the road transport organizations lies in the hands of Presidencies comprising active transport hauliers.
Economic matters of road transport_ are controlled by so-called SVGs (Road Transport Co-operatives) in the various Federal States which form again a Central Co-operative (BZG) for the whole of the Federal Republic. There are 20 regional groups in this Central Co-operative and they have created all over West Germany and Berlin a network of 73 distribution centres of loading capacity, which are day-to-day head clearing offices between users and hauliers, and 22 lorry centres, which offer particularly the services of own filling stations with cheap petrol and diesel as well as hotel accommodation and food at reduced prices for drivers; they also permit parking of lorries and trailers with the possibility of maintenance.
The Federal Co-operative BZG, as representative of the economic interest of goods transport by road, has further created an economic co-operative of the German road transport, called Wikra, which secures a favourable financing of vehicles. In this aspect, of course, something similar does exist in this country.
A further example of the Continental outlook is Transfrigoroute, a European association for the transport of perishable goods that was created in 1955, This association groups the leading road hauliers in 11 European countries circulating with refrigerated and isotherm vehicles.
Then there are insurance advantages to be gained through the medium of KRAVAG, created by BZG. Reduction of insurance cost is made possible by the non-commercial assistance of the co-operatives, economy in KRAVAG's administration and active measures to prevent damages.