RHA cornered on lational pay deal?
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HE ROAD Haulage Association's executive board has been forced ) consider disbanding the existing regional wage negotiations, and turn to a national pattern, reports DAVID WILCOX and ALAN 1ILLAR.
National chairman Ken Rogers 'as forced to make this move on uesday in the closing minutes f the national conference at carborough when delegates -lade strong pleas for the abolion of the Joint Industrial Counils.
The ball started rolling during n open forum — from which ome members wanted the Tess banned — when Eastern 1rea chairman Joe Phillips ought permission to call a neeting to disband the Eastern IC.
Indeed, he said, his area you'd like to do this now, and :atonal vice-chairman Harold lussett admitted that techni:ally, this could happen.
Executive board member John Midgley said he wanted national wage negotiations, since the Union's approach was national, and others supported him by saying they wanted negotiations to be handled from London.
So strong was the feeling that, when one delegate said it was premature to discuss dissolving JICs, there was only a smattering of applause.
The operators' calls are unlikely to be viewed with favour by trades union representatives, and their feeling was summed up by Transport and General Workers Union West Midlands officer Jim Hunt who told CM his members would be "very adamantly against" any switch away from regional negotiations.
"It took a long time to get rid of the Wages Council and the national set-up, and as far as the West Midlands are concerned there is no way that the branches or shop stewards would become involved in national negotiations."
The West Midlands JIC is still less than a year old, and its architects are extremely conscious of the risk of it breaking up during the coming winter's pay talks.
TGWU areas have avoided following a totally national pattern of pay claims by submitting slight regional variations, hence the inclusion of specific percentages in some claims.
Earlier on Tuesday, RHA director-general George Newman told delegates that he hoped that, where sensible agreements are made, all employers will observe them, even although those which have not "signified their assent" to a JIC are not legally bound by its wage and conditions agreements.