Getting the bird
Page 22
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I REFER to the page of comment by the Hawk in CM, April 30 in which he attacks Nalgo and others for seeking to protect the jobs of their members in local government.
How appropriately named your writer is. Frankly, I am more than surprised that a magazine such as yours, published for those who are professionally involved in the development and use of commercial transport and claiming to be the business press journal of the year, is prepared to give space to such emotive and bigoted comment.
By all means publish if you must articles and comment that is critical of those who man the services of local government but let it be informed and factual comment. It is bad enough that unions and their members employed by local authorities have to tolerate so much criticism, based in the main upon ignorance and political prejudice, in the popular press without encountering it in journals that are supposed to be catering for those with a professional interest.
It seems to us that the Hawk, whoever he or it is, has not done much in the way of homework before putting pen to paper. It does not seem unreasonable to us to expect those commenting on the issue of privatisation to ask such pertinent questions as how are the alleged savings being made. In this respect I would have expected your contributors to have shown at least some interest in the more than dubious mathematics put forward to substantiate the claims made on behalf of privatisation.
Some interest in past and present council budgets might also reveal some interesting facts and perhaps most important of all answer the question are the savings being claimed being consolidated. So come on Mr Editor, let's have some debate on the issue based upon reasoned and informed comment, free from the stigma of political prejudice and confined to factual observation. RAYMOND HUNT, AMIRTE Job Protection Coordinator Arun Branch NUPE