Lucky Thirteen
Page 28
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pARLIAMENT has now approved a speed limit of 30 m.p.h. for heavy rigid.and articulated goods vehicles. Thus, a battle begun in 1944 by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the National Road Transport Federation will, after 13 years, be brought on May 1 to a successful conclusion, at least so far as the law is concerned. Before operators can expect to take full advantage of the concession. however, agreement will have to be reached with the unions.
As the Minister of Transport said in the House of Commons last week, the employers have always been willing to give general assurances, but the unions have demanded more specific terms. Both sides have agreed that no employee would be worse off as a result of the higher speed limit and that the financial benefits, if any, will be shared with the workers. It is on the size and form of the share that agreement has not yet been reached.
It is an exaggeration to say, as some Socialist Members claimed last week, that the Government's entirely proper action in raising the limit will endanger labour relations in a peaceful industry. It is an affront to the intelligence of the Transport and General Workers' Union and the dignity of a fine body of drivers to suggest that they might take strike action. They are as aware as the employers of the difficulties of the negotiations and of the anomalies that would be created by ill-considered action.
Several Socialist Members used the debate on the regulations to raise the limit as a stick with which to beat the Road Haulage Association. Unfortunately, they were joined by Mr. Gerald Nabarro from the Conservative benches, who spoke for C-licensees.
Many ancillary users will not, however, thank him for his suggestion that as from May 1 every long-distance driver of a heavy vehicle now limited to 20 m.p.h. should be paid an extra £1 a week. They are as unlikely as numerous free-enterprise hauliers to derive any benefit from the higher speed limit, and in seeking to commit them to unnecessary extra expenditure Mr. Nabarro was exceeding his privilege.
British Road Services have apparently succeeded in devising sOme kind of formula to recompense drivers for a higher average speed. The uniformity of much of their work facilitates such an arrangement, but the formula is hardly likely to be appropriate to the circumstances of many independent hauliers or operators of C-licensed vehicles.