AacBrayne blasted New sick pay
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legislation
TTISH West Coast ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne has blasted by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission for ig to trade at arms' length with its fellow Scottish Transport ip company MacBrayne Haulage, reports our Parliamentary mpondent.
its long-awaited efficiency t report published this week, 1.01MC has accused CalMac of ;ing its monopoly position acting against the public inby effectively reducing petition between suppliers iulage services.
MMC's findings are bound ease both the Freight TransAssociation and the Road lage Association who cornled in evidence about what considered was preferential tment.
le ETA said that after taking )unt of discounts given to Brayne Haulage — Britain's nationalised haulage corny — and the saving of a drivwage during the sea journey Ullapool to Stornoway, it oned that MacBrayne lage saved over £300,000 year.
ath associations also cornned about what they consid1 other preferential facilities terms, although the charges e denied by Cal Mac.
he MMC concluded that e was no charge for Macyne Haulage staff when they )mpanied their vehicles, but routes where unaccompad vehicles were allowed, hers other than MacBrayne lage were charged a handfee equivalent to the pasger fare of the driver.
he overall 22.5 per cent :ount given to MacBrayne [lage was neither cost-related a response to competition, d on the short Kyle of halsh to Kyleakin crossing to a other hauliers' maximum :ount of 10 per cent cornred with MacBrayne ilage's full 22.5 per cent.
nd until the MMC raised the tter with the STG, CalMac pared a weekly schedule of vements of commercial idles for each Western Isles te, giving date, name of Itractor, vehicle contents, gth of vehicle and freight Irge, and sent a copy to Macyne Haulage.
he ETA told the MMC that its mbers had seen no evidence CalMac's claim that Macyne Haulage made way for er hauliers on the Ullapool Stornoway route when the ferry was full — a claim which CalMac said was some recompense for the fact that MacBrayne Haulage and one other operator were not charged for tractive units.
According to the MMC, the effect of its findings was that CalMac had failed to comply with the conditions in one clause of the undertaking made with the Government in 1975.
The MMC also looked at the whole area of commercial vehicle pricing. Since weight constraint on commercial vehicle traffic rarely operated, the differential between commercial and car rates should be lowered, as the commercial traffic would not increase shortterm marginal costs. It also suggested that CalMac should abolish all discounts for commercial vehicles.
• Scottish Secretary George Younger last week announced a 16 per cent increase in financial support in 1983/84 to the main Scottish ferry companies, and he is confident that most fares will be frozen.
The total amount of support goes up from £9.67m to £12.3m, with state-owned Caledonian MacBrayne's share rising from £6.12m to £6.65m.
A much higher increase in support is being offered to P&O Ferries, for its services to Orkney and Shetland. The total package rises from £2.5m to £3.3m (32 per cent) and covers reductions on the company's commercial and passenger tariffs.
Support to Orkney Islands Shipping, provider of internal ferries in Orkney, is being cut from £1.5m to £900,000.