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Steel strike could spell real disaster
Page 5
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IORE THAN 5000 lorry drivers have been laid off as a result of he steel strike, and Road Haulage Association national hairrnan John Silbermann is predicting economic disaster for iany operators, Mr Silbermann told a Camridge audience yesterday Friday) that the number of rivers told not to report for iork is rising rapidly. "To ave this large fleet of lorries tanding idle means economic isaster for the hauliers conerned, and tremendous peronal and family hardship for he drivers who are involunarily forced out of employlent.
"In some cases there must e the gravest doubt whether hey will ever get their jobs ack, or whether the hauliers ;ill ever get these lorries back -1 the road."
One of the worst-affected :.eas is Sheffield and Rother. im, where as many as 1500 ivers are estimated to be laid .f.
This figure could rise I iarply next week if industrial tion bites hard at private I eel works — around 4000 ivers are engaged on their ontracts, and many face the reat of no work.
Typical of operators already ected is Ernest Thorpe, of turgoland, which has laid off 1 65 of its drivers and is :ceping its 20 maintenance tuff employed on isolated Dl's.
Erian Thorpe told CM on 'uesday that several of the irm's 270 trailers were "stuck" aside British Steel Corpration's works, and that it ii-ould be unwise for any hempt to be made to retrieve them during the strike.
He said that about 85 per cent of the company's work was carried out directly with BSC, and many other jobs are also steel related. "What's left is not worth doing on its own."
And he added: "The company has been working out of the nearby Stocksbridge works since 1931. This is the first time anything like this has happened."
South Humberside and Corby have also been hit badly, although the plight of some operators there has been eased by the sugar-beet season which ends at the end of this month. RHA East Midlands area secretary Bill Morton told CM that he estimated about 800 to 1000 drivers in the area have been laid off.
South Wales and Scotland have suffered from closures of BSC plants, and from secondary picketing, but Scottish RHA secretary Tom Brattin told CM that he de tected a responsible attitude on the part of pickets.
Ugly picket-line confrontations earlier in the strike appear to have become less common, but several operators report an increase in the number of drivers taking sick leave, possibly to avoid the need to deal with pickets.
Transport and General Workers Union commercial group secretary Jack Ashwell told CM that the union's policy was a simple one. "Our philosophy is that our men recognise picket lines," he said.