Inquiry Finds Little Risk of Worse Jams at Smithfield
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—If Butchers are Allowed to Carry Their Own Meat to Their Vehicles
THE risk of congestion would have to be carefully watched if retailers or their agents were allowed to carry meat from Smithfield Market to their vehicles, says the report of a committee of inquiry appointed by the Minister of Labour into the causes of industrial unrest in the market. The committee consisted of Mr. R. M. Wilson, Q.C. (chairman), Mr. H. Douglass and Mr. A. H. Mathias. Their report was published last Friday (H.M. Stationery Office, 2s. 6d.).
The possibility of congestion was emphasized to the committee by the Wholesale Meat and Provisions Transport Association. The committee comment that if retailers were allowed to use their own staffs to carry meat to their vehicles without delay, instead of having to keep vans waiting near the market for long periods, as so often happens at present, turn-round would be accelerated and congestion would be relieved.
Switch from Hauliers?
Many retailers who at present have their meat collected by carriers might in those circumstances choose to collect it in their own vans, but the committee doubt whether this practice would be widespread. Among the committee's recommendations is that a retailer or his agent should be allowed to remove to his vehicle such meat as he can personally take out. If he wishes to use bummarees (selfemployed porters) and his regular man is not available, others who are free to do so should do the job. Any retailer who is in a position to employ a full-time licensed porter should be allowed to do so.
It is suggested, however, that more farreaching reorganization than a modification of existing arrangements may be necessary to prevent the efficiency of the market from being impaired and its future prosperity imperilled.
Road Transport Predominates
Reviewing the present system at the market, the report explains that practically all the meat arriving there is brought on road vehicles. Pullers-back remove the meat from the inside of the vehicle to the tailboard and hand it to pitchers.
Pullers-back are employed, on all vehicles bringing meat to the market, except those operated by British Railways, in whose case the work is performed by their employees belonging to the National Union of Railwaymen. Sixty-two of the 72 pullers-back are regular employees of carriers. The present basic wage of regular pullers-back is £12 10s. a week, plus a bonus for exceeding a set tonnage, which may be between £2 and £4.
Pitchers take the meat from the tail834 board to the stall. Most of the regular pitchers are attached to certain market tenants, carriers or British Railways. Some of them, according to the report, earn £22 to £25 a week.
After sale, meat is removed from stalls to road vehicles by licensed porters, of whom there are 623-445 of them fulltime employees of carriers. They earn £11 2s. 6d. a week, plus overtime, which averages two to three hours a week at 8s. 4d. an hour.
Before the war, drivers pulled back their own loads. With the growing use of tractor-drawn trailers, which were frequently left to be unloaded while the tractor went to collect another trailer, pullers-back were introduced to deal with the " dead " loads—and those loads only.
Moreover, carriers customarily had their drivers licensed as porters and used them for that work when they were not required for driving. There was, however, a growing tendency to employ fulltime licensed porters and reduce the amount of portering done by drivers.
Retailers and their full-time employees commonly carried out their own meat. There were also self-employed porters— the equivalent of the present bummarees —but no retailer was obliged to use them.
During meat control all market labour was pooled. It was agreed with the railways that when private trade was restored,
they would again employ their own pitchers. In 1954 the railways were prevailed upon not to do so, but.. they retained the right for their drivers to pull back their own loads.
During decentralization it became impracticable to use tractor-drawn trailers, and pullers-back were no longer necessary. At the request of the Transport and General Midi-kers' Union, however, it was agreed to continue to employ some.
The Union undertook that when private trading was resumed at the market, drivers would again be allowed to pull back their own loads. When meat was decontrolled, the Union refused to implement this undertaking.
When control ended the Union strongly opposed the carriers' proposal that their drivers should once again be licensed as porters. As a result, full-time licensed porters have continued to carry all meat to the hauliers' vans Union Ignore Courts
The present controversy in the market regarding the employment ot bummarees by retail butchers stemmed from the Union's refusal since 1954 to allow retailers to continue the pre-war practice of carrying meat out of the market themselves, or using their full-time employees to do so. This practice was permitted by the market by-laws, and its legality was upheld by the courts. The Union, however, continued to refuse to allow retailers or their staff to remove their meat.
"In all this we consider that the Union fell very much below the standard of responsible conduct which is the basis of sound industrial relations," the committee comment.
W.M.P.T.A. proposed that pitchers should be licensed by the market superintendent in the same way as are porters who carry meat out of the market. They also objected strongly to the compulsory employment of pullers-back and said that drivers should again do this work, as they did in every other meat market in the country.