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Manchester TAO is hit by resignations

26th September 1996
Page 6
Page 6, 26th September 1996 — Manchester TAO is hit by resignations
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by Karen Miles • More than a third of the 60 staff at the Manchester traffic area office will have resigned by mid-October, leaving the North-Western Traffic Area on the verge of collapse, say unions.

The resignations come in the wake of the Department of Transport's announcement that it is to close the office, but six months before the closure is complete. It means enforcement work and operator licensing will be under serious threat in the next few weeks.

The problem is acknowledged privately by Traffic Commissioners as well as publicly by representatives of traffic area workers. It affects 20,000 operators running more than 60,000 lorries.

The Public Service Tax and Commerce Union spokesman says the Manchester office is "teetering on the edge of collapse" and that all enforcement work is "on the point of ceasing". It says operators wanting variations to licences will suffer delays.

A union spokesman adds: "It means those hauliers wanting to increase the number of vehicles on their 0-licence will be faced with the choice of running illegally, without authorisation, or not at all. It will put perfectly respectable hauliers in a difficult situation."

The deci Problems are less serious at Cardiff because most of the stciff are not expected to leave until the end of the year when work should start to transfer to the rest of the Traffic Area network.

sion to reduce the traffic area network from eight offices to six was made by the DOT earlier this year, but this week it disowned the Manchester staffing problems.

A spokesman says: "If there is a staffing problem then it is a problem for local management to sort out. Meanwhile we are making the necessary arrangements for an orderly transfer of work to the remaining offices." Traffic area network staff in the Civil and Public Services

Association are refusing to carry out overtime.

Among those who oppose the closures is Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody. The Transport Select Committee also came out against the shutdowns in its report North-West licensing this summer. under serious threat.

• The Manchester Traffic Area Office covers hauliers operating from Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Derbyshire,

Clywyd and Gywnedd. It is due to close on 31 March 1997, along with the Cardiff area office.

Problems are less serious at Cardiff because most of the stciff are not expected to leave until the end of the year when work should start to transfer to the rest of the Traffic Area network.


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