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up port for wages policy, but
Page 5
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lan Law to RHA: let's get talking'
.NY SMALL hauliers could ll find themselves out of a by the end of the year !ause of the Road Haulage sociation's new proposals managing industrial relans. (News Extra, see page ['his was the reaction of ansport and General Workrs Union commercial servi s group secretary, Alan Law, the RHA's recent proposals t to its members that it ould set up machinery to gotiate wages and terms of iployment with the unions. This change of industrial ations tactics by the RHA s been met with feelings of pe for successful future lustrial relations by both ?.mbers of the Association d senior officials in the insport unions.
Mr Alan Law, TGWU told V/ he believed the intentions hind the move by the RHA re good, but said that if the ;sociation ever looked for tional negotiations, it would not get them from the TGWU. It was completely against the union's way of thinking.
A spokesman for the West Midlands area of the RHA said the RHA's change of policy to set up an official system of negotiating with the unions was "without a shadow of a ,doubt" a step in the right ,direction.
The RHA's proposals to set up new negotiating machinery follows the Secretary of Stae for Employment's decision to scrap the Road Haulage Wages Council.
But, Mr Law says he wants three questions answered before November.
Firstly, he wants to know whether it is envisaged that the union should negotiate with every haulier.
Secondly, whether negotiations will only be between the union and assenting hauliers.
And third, whether there will be any negotiating at all.
If the first point is to be the case, Mr Law said his union will negotiate for the best terms it can get, and come to an agreement.
Should it turn out to be more like the second point, his union would want to see just how many employers that would be in on the talks.
The union would negotiate if the number of employers was high enough, and would then try to force other hauliers to agree to terms already. If no agreement is reached for negotiations to take place between the RHA and the transport union (the RHA Council's proposals has to be passed at the RHA annual general meeting on May 11) the TGWU will draw up its own "model agreement."
It would contain much of what is already in the present Road Haulage Wages Orders, as well as a lot more.
Included in the "model agreement" would be reference to more sick pay, personal accident insurance, personal property insurance (ie when a driver's personal belongings are stolen from his cab), and better redundancy ' money than already provided by the State.
An RHA Council spokesman said he believed the negotiations should involve the majority of members.
But he pointed out that there would be members who, because of their position, did not need any more negotiating machinery.