R.H.A. and T.R.T.A. in Dispute on Hiring Allowances
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ADIFFERENCE of opinion has arisen between the Road Haulage Association and the Traders' Road Transport Association on the use of hiring allowances. The T.R.T.A. has advised members not to engage hauliers under hiring allowances if, by doing so, the hauliers would be able to avoid the 25-mile restriction imposed on A and B licences.
Mr. R. Morton Mitchell, chief executive officer of the R.H.A., has protested against the issue of this warning without prior consultation with his organization through the National Road Transport Federation. The matter was to be brought before the national council of the R.H.A. at its meeting yesterday, "The Commercial Motor" understands.
A printed statement, which is being sent to all members with the May issue of the T.R.T.A. Bulletin, says that one of the main purposes of hiring allowances is to enable the trader to use hired vehicles under his own licence, to meet seasonal pressure of traffic and other emergencies, Approach by Hauliers
Because of the 25-mile limit imposed on A and B licences by the Transport Act, 1947, many members have been approached by hauliers whom they have employed for some years, with proposals that traffic should continue to be handled in the hauliers' own vehicles under the traders' C hiring margins.
"Some of the proposals in this connection which have come before the Association have been clearly illegal." the statement continues, "and in other cases the suggested arrangements do not appear to be in strict accordance with the legal requirements. Arrangements that are not within the law should not be entered into under any circumstances.
" Apart from this aspect of the matter, there remains the fundamental one that, even though within the law, the purpose of the arrangements is to enable traffic to continue to be carried in the vehicles of independent hauliers which could not legally continue to be carried in those vehicles if they were operated under the hauliers' own A or B licence."
Minister's Warning
Members are reminded that when he withdrew the 40-mile radius restriction from the Transport Bill, the Minister of Transport said that he would watch carefully the effects of this concession. If he found that C-licensees were abusing their 'freedom the Government would not hesitate to act.
"There can be no doubt whatever," says the T.R.T.A.. "that the Minister and the Government are most likely to regard the arrangements referred to above as being designed to avoid the consequences of the 1947 Act, and thus constituting an abuse of the freedom of trade and industry to use C-licensed vehicles without restriction."
All C-licensees are strongly advised "not to be a party to any such arrangements in any circumstances where, in fact, the purpose is to enable their traffic to continue to be carried in a vehicle of a private haulier which that haulier can no longer continue legally to carry in his vehicle under his own A or B licence."
Commenting on this notice, Mr. F. D. Fitz-Gerald, national secretary of the T.R.T.A., stressed to "The Commercial Motor" the insurance difficulties that might arise if C hiring allowances were wrongly used. He also referred to the demand by the-Scottish T.U.C. that the operation of C-licence vehicles should he restricted.
At meetings of operators he has been drawing attention to the complications in which hauliers may find themselves when their A or B licences become due for renewal and their records of traffic carried under those licences show a decline, because a substantial amount of work has been done under hiring allowances.
R.H.A. Replies
Replying to the statement, Mr. Morton Mitchell expresses surprise that the recommendations should have been sent to members without first consulting the R.H.A. through the N.R.T.F.
"This Association," he says, "has never countenanced or recommended unlawful practices by its members, but there would seem to be no adequate reason why the facilities provided by the Road and Rail Traffic Act, 1933, for using vehicles under C-licence hiring allowances, should not be freely used so long as they do not conflict with the law.
"Your recommendations may affect the activities of some of our members considerably, and it would have been helpful if we had known in advance what you were proposing to do."
R.H.E. DRIVERS ON STRIKE
ASa protest against the Road Haulage Executive's decision to transfer them to the Gravelly Lane depot, drivers at the Lichfield Road, Aston, Birmingham depot, came out on strike this week.
Drivers at the Hereford depot also struck this week, against the introduction of a five-day week which, they claimed, would make them lose 25s. a week.