1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202 
WTD may fell timber profits
Page 14
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Forestry industry fears the working time axe. Guy Sheppard reports.
THE UK'S LARGEST forestry company is warning that the Working Time Directive could seriously destabilise the industry, making some plantations uneconomic to harvest.
Peter Whitlield, timber operations manager of Stirling-based Tilhill, highlighted the risk at a meeting of nearly 200 hauliers and other forestry-based businesses.
He says timber hauliers are predicting their costs will rise by between five and 20% as a result of the Directive.
"You will find that certain growers, whose timber is in more remote areas and is less profitable, will be inclined not to sell it.
"We are already operating in an environment where hauliers and harvesting companies are working on very small margins and growers are getting less for their timber than they were 10 years ago.
"The Directive is just another thing to potentially destabilise what is already a very fragile part of the industry" The meeting in Elgin, North East Scotland, was organised by two local hauliers,Baillie Brothers (Contractors) and A&F Grant.
Ballindalloch-based Grant employs 17 drivers on timber haulage and director Fred Grant says another five will be needed to cope with the directive. "Their average working week was 57-and-a-half hours and they will now have the same wage for 48 hours."
He says forestry is unlike many other areas of haulage as drivers in the sector will not have as many 'periods of availability' as drivers on supermarket work, for example. "Our customers are very very worricd.They say they can't afford to pass the extra costs on."
Local MP Angus Robertson, has pledged to raise the issue with the government.