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AGAINST ALL ODDS

21st February 1991
Page 36
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Page 36, 21st February 1991 — AGAINST ALL ODDS
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

• Taking on the might of the construction multi-nationals is all in a day's work for Mick Binns.

As head of the National Owner Drivers Association, he spends much of his time wrangling with firms over pay, working practices and operator grievances — and it's no easy task. The strength of his 1,000-strong association is slight in comparison to the money and power wielded by his members' employers.

But after 25 years Noda is still growing strong and has notched up a few victories. More importantly, it has become a recognised channel for airing discontent. In the past two 20 years or so other ownerdriver groups have been formed to do battle with the construction firms, but have failed to stay the course.

Not that Noda hasn't been hit hard by the current recession. More than 70% of its members run cement mixer lorries and the rest own tippers. All rely on the buoyancy of the construction industry — which is one of the biggest victims of the economic slump.

Devon, Cornwall, the southern Home Counties and the Thames Valley area seem to be hardest hit, says Binns. This makes it a very different recession from the climate of the early 1980s, he believes: "Ten years ago, southern operators did not even know there was a recession as the building boom continued. But the Midlands and the North all suffered very, very badly. Now things seem to have swung round. The recession this time is definitely worse in the South and not as severe in the North."

Unlike many other trade unions, Noda's membership figures are holding up, but Binns expects that some members will become economic casualties.

"I think we will lose members because this will be a worse recession than the one 10 years ago," he says. "Some operators are already deciding to get out of transport and I expect to see quite a reduction of owner-drivers in the construction industry this year."

Binns is already hearing tales of financial woe from his members. Some drivers are paying £1,400 a month in finance arrangements," he says. "On top of that they have to pay tax, etc. Many are faced with repayments of more than £2,000 a

month just to keep the truck on the road. A lot of drivers are not even earning that sort of money."

If an owner-driver cannot meet his monthly repayments, he is forced to sell his livelihood — his lorry. But in times of economic hardship the value of secondhand vehicles plummets. An operator can be faced with owing a finance company more for his truck than it is worth on the market, so if he does manage to sell his vehicle he can still end up owing the finance company money.

Such difficulties have been aggravated by a reduction in rates by some large firms.

"All firms have run their own fleets, so they understand the level of transport costs," says Binns. "Companies know that if they cut rates below the break-even point they are forcing drivers to either go broke or break the law to earn money."

He insists that there should be Government legislation to set a minimum rate, and to pay an owner-driver less would be breaking the law. But he has no illusions about Noda's chances: "If I am honest with myself, I don't think we have a snowball's chance in hell."

Binns and Noda have also been doing battle with construction firms over waiting time. Operators currently get paid a fixed amount if they are kept waiting to deliver on a building site, but the rate is derisory, says Binns. He claims that it is actually cheaper for a building site to pay waiting time charges rather than hiring specialist equipment such as concrete pumps, which could dramatically cut waiting time.

"At the moment," he says, "if a lorry is stuck on site for more than three hours, the operator is not earning a living."

Binns has been trying to persuade construction firms to penalise building sites which are the worst offenders for delayed deliveries, but he has found himself in a Catch 22 situation. Companies say they are quite willing to introduce penalty charges, but only if all their competitors make the same move — and nobody is willing to take the first step so the problem remains.

Binns is also critical of the lack of modern equipment on building sites. He says that many mixer lorry drivers still have to tip their loads of cement into wheelbar rows: "This is ridiculous. We are almost in the 21st century; man landed on the moon 20 years ago and drivers are still discharging cement on-site into wheelbarrows. This is a safety hazard. There are cases where the weight of the cement tips over the wheelbarrow and breaks the arms of the poor chap whose job is holding the barrow steady."

One of Noda's biggest concerns at present is not an old chestnut like waiting time and equipment, but a more recent far-reaching move by some companies.

Several members have contacted the Weilingborough-based association querying new delivery notes which make the driver responsible for the quality of the cement. If the cement is rejected when he comes to deliver it, the driver loses any haulage fees he was due and also has to pay for the ruined cement.

Binns is having these notes examined by a legal expert and says he is willing to take any firm to court which tries to make drivers responsible for cement quality.

The list of difficulties facing ownerdrivers today is endless, but the one which really makes Binns see red is people's attitudes. Every day he encounters operators who are simply too scared to join any organisation confronting drivers' problems.

Binns claims that many firms try to persuade operators to abandon Noda: "Many operators are fearful of what the company will do to them if they join Noda," he says. "Several drivers have actually said that to me. They might be dissatisfied with the way the company treats them, but they think this will only get worse if they join a trade union."

But the group that Binns really loves to hate are construction site managers who see owner-drivers as "overpaid, mollycoddled and not worth the money they are paid.

Our industry is riddled with middle management who are drunk on the authority they think they have — but have not really got," he says. "Many don't even know how haulage rates are worked out and just see everything from the company's point of view."

El by Tanya Cordrey


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