RHA urges quality and not quanti
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criticised a "growing minority of adoption of a licensing system THE Road Haulage Association has its members" who are urging the based on quantity control.
As he closed this year's conference, RHA director-general George Newman told delegates that quantity licensing is not the right path. "If you want to be regarded as professionals, the way forward is surely to seek a substantial reinforcement of the quality requirements for the grant of licences, whether for hire and reward or own-account operations."
This would, he said, improve standards, make the lorry more acceptable to the public and eliminate the fringe operators — "without resorting to restrictive or monopolistic devices".
Referring to the current recession, Mr Newman said that the RHA has been told "by various parties" that the Association should seek to repeal the restrictive trade practices legislation forbidding publication of rate tables. Mr Newman thoL4ir this unrealistic under both British and EEC law. The latter, which overrides British legislation, forces the RHA to publish bilateral reference tariffs between EEC states. These, he said, demonstrate the value of rate guides and recommendations: The tariffs have little bearing on the rates that British hauliers actually get on international traffic.
Emphasised Mr Newman: "The remedy lies not in rates recommendations, which nobody will follow, but in insisting on fair charges for good and reliable service, the reduction of vehicle fleets which can't be profitably employed, on corn
pany-based productivity schemes, and, eventually, on a really effective quality licensing system."
He also pointed to the guide of costs that the RHA produces which allows every "numerate operator" to work out his own costs, so giving a clue to the sort of rates he should be charging — after adding on a suitable profit margin to allow for vehicle replacement.
Commenting on this last point, Mr Newman said: "We have tried hard during the past years, when inflation has been at high levels, to implant this message in the minds of our members, and if they haven't acted on it, don't blame the Association."