Employers' Absolute Liability for Records to be Abolished
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BY OUR PARLIAMENTARY CORRESPONDENT
)0AD transport operators will soon no N. longer face the certainty of convican if their drivers fail to keep proper cords of hours worked. During a long thate on the Road Traffic Bill this week le Commons accepted a new Governent. clause which allows the holder of carrier's licence to plead the defence [at he used "all due diligence" to :cure compliance with the provisions of le 1960 Road Traffic Act.
This change in the law was viewed ispiciously by many Labour Members, id at one time it looked as if the ipposition would vote against the•clause. ut it was finally accepted after Mr. John lay, Parliamentary Secretary to the linistry of Transport, had given an ssurance that it would not make things isier for bad employers.
"if we thought for one moment that le effect of putting this particular thing do the law was to reduce the degree of bservance of the law relating to the eeping of records, we would not have mched it," Mr. Hay told the House. Putting what he described as his ersonal view, Opposition Front Bench mkesman Mr. R. J. Mellish said that e the view of those who represented the ten this clause was not a very minor )atter. One of the tiny minority of bad employers would say that he told the man to keep records, and in the majority of cases that would be accepted by the courts. The situation would be very carefully watched by the unions.
Mr. Geoffrey Wilson (Con., Truro) said Mr. Mellish's fears were not real, and this change would mean that a few employers would have justice done to them.
Mr. George Strauss, from the Opposition Front Bench, admitted that there was a strong argument in favour of the clause, but if the trade unions found that it had a harmful effect on record-keeping and hours of work they would be entitled to go to the Minister and say: " It is up to you to put things right."
Also accepted was a clause making it an offence for anyone to drive a motor vehicle on a road if he was incapable of meeting the sight standard laid down in the driving test, using glasses if necessary.
A long list of amendments—including the Government's fresh thinking on " special reasons" for not disqualifying— had still to be dealt with when the debate was adjourned. The Minister gave an undertaking that the Government would find time for these to be considered before the Summer Recess.