Smithfield Drivers to Help Unload ?
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AA PLAN for working at Smithfield Market, London, submitted last week to the committee of inquiry by Mr. Harold Padbury, chairman of Smithfield Market Tenants Association, proposed that drivers should in future move meat, other than dead loads, froth inside their vans to the tailboard. At present, " pullersback " are employed for this work.
The Wholesale Meat and Provisions Transport Association thought that some pulkrs-back were necessary. They maintained that the refusal of drivers to pull hack meat to the tailboard and to assist in this work was, however, unreasonable and unnecessarily increased costs.
On behalf of the Association, Mr. Harold Minter, of United Carriers, Ltd., said it might be unsatisfactory that retailers should have a right in law to carry away their own meat which they could not exercise in practice. It might be in the interests of smooth and efficient working in the market if these rights could be restricted or abolished by amending the market by-laws.
Any appreciable increase in the number of retailers' vehicles entering the market would cause such traffic congestion that it would be almost impossible to work.
Mr. H. A. West, of the Association of Multiple Retail Meat Traders, told the inquiry on Monday that members who had employed meat carriers had experienced delay through the later starting of work than before the war, the expenditure of too much time on journeys, insufficient control by hauliers over their staff and slow working by shopmen.
The Union, said Mr. West, had insisted that meat arriving at depots near Smithfield in vehicles other than those owned by members of the Association should be unloaded by pullers-back and pitchers brought from the market. The Union hadalso refused to allow non-Union drivers employed by members of the Association to pick up meat from members' depots outside Smithfield market. Drivers and porters should, he said, be allowed to help one another, On behalf of the workers, Mr. A. H. Roullier, of the Transport and General Workers Union, told the inquiry on Tuesday that if butchers were allowed freely to carry away their own meat there would be congestion and difficulties both in the market and outside. He 'put forward proposals to improve the working of the market.
L.C.S. ADOPT PLASTICS
riA FLEET of 50 bakers' delivery vans with plastics roofs and wheel arches is scheduled for production in the coachworks of the London Co-operative Society, Ltd., Chobham Road, Stratford.
• The bodies, on Morrison batteryelectric chassis, are largely constructed from light-alloy panelling, but are unusual *in that a polyester/glass fibre material, by Bakelite, Ltd., is used for the one-piece roofs and wings.
The effects of heat have been minimized b)/ using a pastel colour in contrast to the familiar scarlet of L.C.S. vehicles.
MORE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
By next month there is expected to be a full complement of 100 Ministry of Transport enforcement officers. There are at present 95, compared with 63 two years ago. The staff of traffic and driving examiners is also being increased and by the end of the year about 50 of them will be assisting in enforcement work.
70 RURAL BUS SERVICES GO QEVENTY road service licences for Li rural services in England and Wales were voluntarily surrendered last year. They involved the withdrawal of 801 route-miles. In .1955, 45 licences (610 route-miles) were surrendered. In 1956 the figure rose to 61 (680 route-miles).
CAR HIRE TAKE-OVER THE J. Davy Group of car hire special1 ists are buying Stciners of Liverpool. one of the biggest provincial car hire operators. Steiners have a summer fleet of about 150 vehicles. The Capital issues Committee have consented to a capital issue of up to £500.000. requested by J. Davy.