Pouring troubled waters on oil
Page 27
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SINCE Britain discovered North Sea Oil (the answer to all our problems) the price for this commodity has never ceased to -ise due to one excuse after another.
We now have three or four 'easons constantly handed out or the next increase.
We have the Arabs as )roducers wanting more for heir oil, and why not?
Then we have the
3overnment who wanted to see ree enterprise succeed and low Prices be the order of the day, iut its problem was it was inning short on capital and had 3 hit fuel pretty hard to make ome cash available for some ther enterprise.
After a lot of soul-searching le Government has finally iven in to a ten pence reduction n the price of derv, but in ugust.
To add to this crude mixture, e have the greedy oil
impanies who are making a -ofit, but not as large as they id hoped for. Between emselves they decide every her week to put another few nce on the price of derv.
I wonder how many millions e of the big four would make if ay refused to put up their ces along with the rest? Fhe Arabs at present are ing to hold the price of oil, but an they must be saying to imselves that if the national • rol companies can change ir price on the smallest whim n so can we.
RDON S. RONSON sgow d to add to the confusion the vernment has now cut the of crude oil from North Sea Imes, but the oil companies this will not reduce the price ti-products. — Editor.
Wages deadline: the other side of the coin
CAWTHORNE and Sinclair merited pride of place on page 3 (June 6). You had obviously been listening to the information coming in from the local TGWU.
We have no intention of conducting our business via the Press but, would like to make one or two observations: (1) The increase which was paid to our drivers was exactly that offered prior to the brief strike we suffered. As our drivers are paid in accordance with a totally domestic arrangement negotiated with them, the reference to the £83 for 40 hours is inappropriate.
(2) No new comprehensive agreement was entered into by the company and our drivers already have pension and other benefits independently arranged.
(3) The reference to fitters is misleading as Cawthorn and Sinclair do not employ fitters. All maintenance is undertaken by another group company which always attempts to keep its wage rates at least comparable with other undertakings in the area.
The delay in implementing increased rates of pay is purely on account of the serious financial state of the industry 'and our employees have been kept fully informed. Our efforts have, and will continue to be, directed to keeping the business together and endeavouring to safeguard the employment of as many people as possible. W. WELDON Chairman Cawthorn & Sinclair Ltd Birtley, Tyne and Wear
'Professional' men but 'amateur' mistakes?
IN REPLY to J. E. Eastman (CM, June 13, Dear Sir) who does he think he is to make a sweeping
statement like "the inexperienced and ignorant DIY man" and then compare him with the trained mechanic?
I agree, knowledge and experience are necessary to do many jobs, but so are care and attention.
Many DIY men are enthusiastic and interested enough to have gained a lot of the knowledge and experience of a professional and will use a lot more care and attention than the guy who's familiarity has bred contempt.
Please don't get me wrong. There are many very competent "pros", but so are there amateurs, who, like me, have suffered at the hands of the garage whose staff "fix" it three times before they find the fault. R. A. CROSS Northwich, Cheshire
Third man's theme upsets coachmen
THE HAWK (CM, May 30) quoted Charles Oliver of Beck & Pollitzer Crane & Transport on the apparent need to repair the third lanes of motorways. Your columnist offered the suggestion that "coaches travelling at 70mph or more are doing the mischief".
Motorway construction and maintenance is highly complex to deal with in a short letter — though, obviously, design and weather as well as traffic are major considerations.
So far as traffic is concerned, axle weight is undoubtedly a major factor; so is the tangential force on the road surface associated with the vehicle's gross weight — driven through a single axle — engine power, acceleration and deceleration.
In all these respects, the British coach is but a middleweight and can in no way be singled out as the culprit.
Let it not be forgotten that: Some motorways are now beyond their original design capacity and life; Frequent repairs to the slov lanes and hard shoulders hay caused extensive use of the second and third lanes by hea vehicles otherwise prohibited Some closures of third lane have been for the protection c personnel working on crash barriers, central drainage or lighting, bridge piers and scrO It is one thing being Hawkisf at the expense of a significant section of your readership if there is a genuine lesson to be learned: unnecessarily offensi remarks are quite another matter.
A. GURLEY Confederation of British Road Passenger Transport London WC2
Gardner looks on the lighter side
I ENJOYED reading your new style Commercial Motor (June but was somewhat dismayed bi the write-up of our new turbocharged engine in your report of the TIPCON Exhibition
In your article (page 36) you state that "despite the extra equipment and changes that have been necessary, the 6LXCI weighs only 40kg (90 lb) more than the naturally aspirated 6LXCT."
This section should have read "despite the extra equipment and changes that have been necessary, the 6LXCT weighs only 191b more than the naturally aspirated 6LXC."
I realise errors can happen but we are rather proud of extractinc all the extra power while keeping the weight increase to this very low figure and we would like your readership to gain the right impression. T.E.B.CUMMINS Sales and marketing executive L. Gardner & Sons Ltd Manchester