AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

A Tory promise to revoke clause 45

24th May 1968, Page 71
24th May 1968
Page 71
Page 71, 24th May 1968 — A Tory promise to revoke clause 45
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

FOLLOWING Mr. Edward Heath's assurances to the Road Haulage Association, Mr. David Webster, Conservative MP for Weston-super-Mare, told the Institute of Traffic Administration annual conference in Leamington Spa last week: "We will abolish clause 45 giving nationalized industries the right to manufacture, distribute and sell spares and accessories at the ratepayers' expense. We will abolish special authorizalions as they now stand in the Bill."

Tories would abolish PTA's right to precept on the rates and that part of the Transport Bill meaning that ratepayers would have to underwrite the running of railway services without any say in their management.

Mr. Webster was taking part in a forum with Mr. Leslie Huckfield, Labour MP for Nuneaton, Mr. Derek Joyce, chairman, Transport Users Joint Committee and Mr. Arthur Hughes, divisional officer, United Road Transport Union, on "Management and human relations as related to the new Transport Bill".

Mr. Huckfield pointed out that recent acquisitions by the Transport Holding Company had been made under the powers of the 1962 Transport Act.

Mr. Webster said businessmen should be left to make their own decisions---it was the job of British Railways' salesmen to inform firms of facilities available—and not be given traffic by direction under the special authorization proposals. An increase of vehicles weighing under 16 tons could only increase urban congestion.

However, the new Minister of Transport had decided to amend drivers' hours reductions in two stages, first to a 10-hour driving day and 121-hour working day. And it was Mr. Webster's guess that he would not implement the second stage.

With regard to quantity control, the onus of proof was now to be on both sides, with exemptions for livestock, the Highlands and Islands and furniture removals. The 100mile radius was now to be estimated as the crow flies. Detriment of a person's business could now be pleaded when applying for special authorization.

Mr. Joyce felt the principal characteristic of the Bill for trade and industry would be that of frustration to the man in the boardroom. The transport manager, who would have to be a lawyer, accountant and humanitarian, had been selected to "carry the can" as far as meeting the technical requirements and keeping within the regulations was con

cerned, but if the opportunity was seized, it could raise the industry's status.

The amount of inspectorate required concerning drivers' hours could cause a significant division between the Civil Service and drivers, he felt.

Mr. Hughes said the reduction in the driver's working week to 57+ hours meant a reduction in take-home pay. Even though the basic rate was not always the cause of problems, it was often the point at which an explosion took place. Productivity schemes brought their own difficulties, when workers' pay exceeded that of lower management.

The proposed security vetting by the Home Office of drivers with loads over a certain value, was repugnant to the trade unions.

Pressures on the worker to maintain his present level of earnings, together with the transport manager's endeavours to maintain vehicle profitability, could lead to shift systems being introduced.

Mr. Huckfield felt that the Bill would force the road haulage industry to grow up. It would have to have a recognized institution and professional qualifications. He considered the trade associations should have got together and themselves put forward proposals for operators' and transport managers' licences, but he hoped the administration of these licences would be left mainly to them.

No boast

The industry could not boast of a record with an average working week of 58.9 hours, basic pay of about £12 and a subsistence allowance of just over El. He realised there was a high vocational element in a driver's job. "He has been called a modern gipsy —he likes to wander." Regarding the basic rate, there had to be better national machinery for negotiations.

Answering a question, Mr. Huckfield pointed out that between 1956 and 1965 the RHA had recommended rates increases totalling nearly 70 per cent. Mr. Hughes said that nothing like this percentage had been achieved due to user resistance and competition depressing rates.

Operators would soon have to make full use of their capital assets and, users were going to find themselves paying demurrage on containers, so would not leave them on container terminals, or waiting to be delivered to or from groupage centres, said Mr. Ian Trelawny, director and general manager of the Felixstowe Dock and Rail

way Company, during his paper on Saturday, entitled "Cargo handling on short sea routes".

They had to be on the move, with a payload, continuously. It was best to put them on their own wheels, or road transport, which could deliver them, without intermediate handling, to exactly where they were required, and then depart rapidly to make room for more.

Some considered that the future inland transport of containers would be almost exclusively by rail. "I am afraid these people are not realists", said Mr. Trelawny. When loading a ship, not only had the containers to be in the correct order, but one train every 14 hours had to be presented to the crane. Also the container coming out of the ship had to be the right one for the space just vacated. "Even in the computer age, I don't believe such precision can be achieved", he said.

It was up to the shipper to discover the best through-journey bargain and to ascer tain the complete cost of moving his goods. "He must not be taken in by cut-price bargains in one section of the through-journey, often leading to additional expense elsewhere in the process."

About 12 years ago, people became conscious of transport costs, and it became important to turn round ships and vehicles quickly. The pallet and fork-lift truck were introduced, raising the handling rate from under one ton an hour, when done manually, to 20 tons per hour.

Roll-on/roll-off ships were then brought in and would continue to be used for short sea traffic for a long time. A vehicle could be transported from Felixstowe to Rotterdam in the time it would stand idle at a major port.

He felt expansion in container usage depended upon inland handling facilities in the UK. Complete loads could be handled easily but the average weight of an individual consignment was around 30cwt. Thus groupage facilities had to be provided but this was not a job for the ports.

The previous day, Mr. Norman H. Tilsley, editor Containerization International, gave

a paper on "World containerization—a progress report". Giant shiplines switching to full containerization were fighting for control over the whole distribution chain, from factory door to customer reception, and even road carriers could find their very existences at stake.

Because the railways were lass labourintensive, the system favoured them. "The haulier provided the Governement allows him to participate—will probably make his money hauling other people's skeletal semi-trailers and containers."

The forwarding agent had failed to fill the gap created by modern advances. In the

United States operators called "interrnodalists" were now selling space in containers, either their own or leased ones. Without such men, the consolidation of less-thancontainer loads could not be effected.

Mr. R. Wandelt (London) asked whether it was not time to establish a standard pallet to fit containers. Mr. Tilsley said he had seen a whole range specially designed in Hanover recently.


comments powered by Disqus