How Should the C-licence Driver Be Paid?
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Criticism of the Plea by the Associated Committee of C-licence Holders that Ancillary Users' Drivers Should be Uncontrolled
THE work of the Committee which is inquiring into the wages and conditions of drivers of C-licensed vehicles is drawing to a close, and a scrutiny of the evidence discloses the patent fact that the issues have been clouded to a serious extent, on the one hand by the use of designations by various associations and other bodies which are misleading as to their influence or extent of membership, and, on the other, through misuse of the terms "retail distributive trades," " customers," "wholetime drivers," " vehicles " and "hours of duty," which require the closest definition.
I would voice a strong protest against the representation made on behalf of "The Associated Committee of C-licence Holders" (mainly comprising wholesale bulk distributors and manufacturers), who resisted all control over C-licensed vehicle drivers.
In the statement of evidence the case for the "Associated C-licence Holders" full-time tfansport drivers in wholesale bulk distribution was bolstered mainly by the case of the part-time driver operating a light shop delivery, canvassing or sales van, the driver Of which was represented as a retail shop assistant whose conditions are controlled by the provisions of the Shops Act. The disservice thus rendered to the smaller shop keeper is evident.
• Ancillary Users Must Pay.
By those engaged in transport work and in a position to give practical views upon the value of work performed, with due regard to both time and effort expended, -it is generally accepted that as a result of this Inquiry conditions and wages comparable with those of A and B transport drivers are both rational and inevitable for C-licensed vehicle whole-time drivers where the class of work and conditions are alike.
Between the full-time transport worker and the part-time driver of a light delivery van attached to a retail shop there is an unbridgeable gap. The conditions and scale of wages of a transport trade union driver in respect of a whole time transport job cannot be accepted as the basis for the wages of a shop employee who drives as a matter of convenience.
A body comprising some of the London and larger provincial cities departmental stores have formed n8 what is termed a "Joint Council for the Retail Distributive Trades Section of the Road Transport Industry." I learn that, almost without exception, the operations of "these firms are wide enough to render it necessary to maintain transport departments employing large numbers Of heavy vehicles driven by full-time drivers.
Actually the schedule of minimum wage rates agreed for the drivers of these particular firms differs from that of the National Joint Conciliation Board and particularly in respect of the classification of vehicles, these differences being made in order to meet these firms' requirements.
Committee's Suggestion Rejected.
A suggestion from the Committee of Inquiry that this Council should conform to the findings of the National Conciliation Board was negatived ; it was stated that such a course would not meet their particular requirements for their fulltime transport workers.
Nevertheless, in the statement of evidence there is no hesitation in suggesting that the "Retail and Distributive Trades" particular scale, conditions and classification of transport workers could "without difficulty" be applied in small retail establishments where salesmen are frequently employed in driving vans for only part of their working time.
"No Possible Objection."
I would put it that practical road operators, whether A, B or C-licence holders, can see no possible objection to paying the full-time transport worker the wages which generally apply to that category. For that same reason I would resist the suggestion of a body not wholly representative of the interests at stake, that hours, wages and conditions of a well-defined class of employee, i.e., transport pure and simple, should be imposed upon those whose training and reason for existence lie in an entirely different class, i.e., trade, in which the employee has the oppor
tunity of reaping the reward of his own initiative, and which is foreign to the function of heavy transport.
There are other occupations, such as advertising, which involve parttime driving in order that the employee may move about the country in the discharge of his duties, where the imposition of the Transport and General Workers' Union Rates and Conditions would be ridiculous.
The representations made of shortcomings amongst C-licence holders are equally applicable to those holding A and B licences ; certainly it cannot be stated that the driving of C-licence drivers is less efficient.
One conclusion with which few will disagree emerges from the evidence ; the larger departmental stores are able, through the volume of their business, to maintain full-time transport workers whose job is similar in all respects to drivers working for A and B licensees, and their desire to frame a case prejudicing the trade of their smaller competitors, who must give the same sales service by means of light vehicles, which are often part-time-driven by members ot sales staff, is natural and has been fully expressed.
Entirely New Industry.
Individual firms have the right to perform that transport which may be incidental to the peculiar requirements of their trade: an entirely new industry competitive with the railway, canal and coastwise services has been created and no A or B carrier is entitled to specialize in transport for hire or reward through the medium of full-time drivers and demand that the special conditions attached to his transport workers be imposed upon the part-time C driver.
However, I do not think that the whole of the interests who are entitled to make part-time use of their own vehicles under C licences will permit their specialized staffs to be graded in any other way than through their own industries—to adopt any other course would spell chaos.
R. V. TEAR.