"KID-GLOVE" FITTERS RULE THE ROOST 1Q■ ECENTLY I have had
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art experience which has "shaken me," and I feel that if I write to you, you may be able to give it publicity, which will be read by many who, perhaps, feel the same way about it as I do. Some effort may then be made to improve this state of affairs.
I recently, returned to civilian life from the Services, after serving in R.E.M E as a major commanding a workshop company for two years in India.
served my apprenticeship and have been engaged in the motor industry for 23 yrs., having " roughed it " in the beginning and, later, held executive posts. Naturally, 1 am a bit out of date with the trade after five years, but am learning again as transport manager and engineel for a large fleet of commercial vehicles We have a good maintenance staff and can cope with the majority of our repairs, but occasionally have to send work out A little time ago I made a request to a company, which has supplied most of our vehicles and with which we do a great deal of business, to undertake some work for us over the week-end. After much persuasion, it undertook to ask the men concerned to work overtime, and the vehicles were delivered to their premises as arranged.
Much to my surprise and disgust, 1 received a telephone call from the works manager on the Saturday morning, stating that the fitters had refused to work on the vehicles because they were dirty and should have been washed down by us before being sent However, apparently he succeeded in persuading the men to carry on by paying them extra (dirt) money
Looking at the situation generally, 1 would like to describe my feelings as follows:—
(1) Export makes it very necessary to undertake all repairs during non-working transport hours, because we just cannot obtain new vehicles. In fact, most of our work is undertaken during weekends and evenings (2) A firm of commercial-vehicle distributors should have a 24-hour system in operation, and the manufacturer should see to it that this operates, or else give the distributorship to a company which can give adequate service.
(3) What has happened to the "lads" who used to work under vehicles in the wet weather, with the water dripping on their necks, etc, and like it." 1 agree that working conditions still require improving in many ways, but the repair of commercial vehicles will always necessitate unpleasant conditions, and a distributor of commercial vehicles should engage a staff prepared to undergo these inconveniences_ .(4) What happens when heavy teocivery requested daring non-working hours, I Shudder to think. , I have been back at the job only a matter of days, but I can see. that many changes have taken place while I have been away, and these will take a lot of getting used to.
Camberley R.E.M.E.