Common Front
Page 69
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
MUCH has been heard recently 011 the desirability of closer co-operation between British Road Services and the independent hauliers. Speakers from both political parties advocate it. Representatives of B.R.S. and of the Road Haulage Association express a manly willingness to bury the hatchet. The general public are tempted to take the will for the deed, There remains more than a doubt whether the new-sown friendship will take deep root.
Opportunities of getting together are not lacking, or can be contrived. The present Minister of Transport, himself a keen supporter of co-operation, has done what he can at least to foster the appearance of intimacy. It was ingenious of him to arrange for a personal meeting between thechairmen of the British Transport Commission and of the R.H.A. to discuss what proportion of the 7,750 vehicles to be retained by B.R.S. should be unlicensed_ The figure of n per cent. was a reasonable compromise that would probably have been reached by whatever means was chosen. The procedure made possible the announcement in Parliament that agreement on the figure had been reached between the two organizations.
Apart . from this somewhat contrived kind of co-operation; the two sides have a number of common problems on which they are already in close touch. A clause deliberately written into the Transport (Disposal of Road Haulage Property) Bill ensures that wage negotiations remain separate, but there is no doubtthat hauliers and B.R.S. will keep in step when .future claims are under consideration. As a corollary, there will also be an interchange of information on questions concerning rates.
Always Have Critics
Licensing problems also make mutual discussions
inevitable. The framework within which road-rail negotiating committees have worked for over six years needs overhaul in the light of the new situation. It has already become too well established not to continue in its revised forms although it will always have its critics. The negotiating machinery makes it possible for hauliers and B.R.S. to keep in-continuous touch with each other's licensing policy. They will not always agree, but the means of reaching agreement is always at hand.
On other matters, contact may not be so regular, but it undoubtedly exists. Evidently, it is not generally regarded as adequate. Mr. Harold Watkinson set the mood towards the end of the second reading of the new Bill: He offered both sides of the road haulage industry a "word of advice." While there should be free and frank competition, they should "consult one another on the matters of general interest to the industry as a whole."
The Socialists in the House at the time may have had the unpleasant sensation of a man seeing his own effigy in the Chamber of Horrors. They have made sure subsequently that Mr. Watkinson's proposal does nc* remain his monopoly. Their attitude, without making any rash promises, is that if hauliers can win the friendship of B.R.S. they may avoid losing their freedom at the next turn of the political tide.
The interests mainly concerned can hardly remain indifferent to this flow of wishful political thinking. Maj.-Gen, G. N. Russell, general manager of B.R.S., in an address to the Institute of Transport, has reiterated the Minister's wish, although in different words. B.R.S. and independent hauliers, "whilst competing for the patronage of customers, should seek ways and means of promoting the well-being of the industry as a whole, so that the interests of trade and industry can best be served."
A different approach towards the same end has come from Mr. James Barrie, national chairman of the R.H.A. After condemning the interference from politicians in the past, he admits the possibility of selfish operators and "some very fierce competition." Common interests to which he particularly refers are vehicle operation, wages and conditions of employment, and taxation. "With the growth of trade associations and the recognition by Governments of industrial representation, it appears to me that the industry will be stronger in any representations it felt bound to make if it were entirely united for the purpose"
B.R.S. Join R.H.A.?
Everybody agrees on the desirability of co-operation. An acceptable method may not be so easy to find. The Minister has ensured that wage negotiations will continue to be conducted separately. For other matters a .theoretically possible solution would be for B.R.S. to join the R.H.A. As holders. of A licences they are eligible for membership, or could easily be made so. Two decisions Would first be 'required. B.R,S. would have to apply for Membership, and the national council of theR.H.A. would have to accept the application. For a_ number of reasons, neither Step is likely to be taken.
The clearing houses have recently made their opinion plain. At the annual congress of the National Conference of Road Transport Clearing -Houses, only six supporters were found for a proposal to establish liaison machinery with B.R.S. One appreciates the reasons why clearing houses, as such, are likely to have a conspicuous lack of affection for B.R.S., but the Conference has a number of long-distance hauliers among its membership, and they seemed as strongly determined as anyone else to keep B.R.S. at arm's length.
The greater co-operation that so many people seek requires some kind of machinery. Since the beginning of 1950, a scheme for road haulage liaison, embracing, the British Transport Commission and the R.H.A., has been in existence, although scarcely in operation, except for the section concerned with licensing. There were set up a liaison conference and a liaison committee, with two sub-committees, one general and the other to deal
with licensing. There were also divisional liaison committees.
At the time, hauliers no doubt hoped to use the machinery to ease the tribulations caused by the Transport Act, 1947. Perhaps to guard against this, the terms of reference were watered down to such an extent that the machinery was ineffective. Times have changed. Hauliers and the B.T.C. can now meet as equals. If they are to meet at all, it might help to revive the liaison machinery and see whether it will work under existing conditions. If the attempt is successful, it will provide another reason for not changing those conditions with every change of Government_