A birthright to fight for
Page 9
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"Totally unnecessary" is the only reasonable response to the news that EU Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio is considering legislation making it compulsory for haulage contracts to include a fuel escalator.
Why? Because British hauliers shouldn't need Brussels to help them secure the best deal from their customers. The (first) unpalatable truth is that any operator who currently HASN'T got a fuel escalator built into his rates shouldn't book a holiday next year because he's not going anywhere.
And before irate CM readers race to tell us that they can't get a decent fuel price surcharge accepted by their customers we'd ask this simple question: if the people you work for won't pay the full cost of your job, how can you afford to work for them? The second unpalatable truth is that if the EC ever did bring such a law in—and franldy we doubt whether this horse will run—then how many operators would simply pass it on to their customer in a vain attempt to keep them?
During the recent fuel protests government insiders suggested just that in response to industry calls for major cuts on fuel duty.
That's probably why Gordon Brown gave away some money on VED, rather than fuel, on the basis that most hauliers could probably keep hold of it. Fuel surcharges are yours to apply, yours to have—and yours to keep. So why ask a Brussels bureaucrat to help you get what's already