New realism by owner-drivers in battle for higher earnings
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by John Darker
A RECENT emergency meeting of the national executive committee of NODA the ownerdrivers' association — unanimously decided that existing haulage rates include a "net profit" element which should be seen as the equivalent of an employed driver's wages, and this wages element is in no sense to be construed as a true profit or return on capital or time invested.
The Association agreed that in accordance with accepted road haulage practice a 20 per cent profit figure would be established on fixed costs, and that the wages element would be an addition to this.
It is hoped that the operating profit figures now under negotiation will fully cover a deficiency on outgoings which has been a characteristic of the owner-driver situation because vehicles have been depreciated over five years, while hire purchase payments have been for a four-year term. Hitherto, the outgoings of most owner-drivers in the first four years of a contract term have exceeded income; hence the new policy to relate operating profits to the fixed costs of the ownerdriver's business, to ensure an adequate return.
The emergency conference of NODA was called following labour disputes in the North West, South East, London and the Thames Valley. NODA's • national co-ordinator, Mr John Cameron, has been called into these disputes to arbi trate, with the agreement of both sides to the dispute.
Some confusion exists, I understand, as to the precise standing of Mr Cameron in his capacity as national coordinator and agreed "arbitrator" in certain dispute situations. Because most of the owner-drivers in NODA are under contract to companies in the RMC group there has arisen a quite unwarranted suspicion that Mr Cameron is employed by RMC. He is, in fact, the principal executive of the oNational , Owner Drivers' Association (UK).
1 gather from Mr Cameron that when he wears his arbitrator's cap he is concerned purely to reconcile the interests of the parties involved. "Tough talking", if there is any, comes from the area committees of ownerdrivers in confrontation with management representatives of the employing companies. It would be inappropriate for Mr Cameron in his role as an arbitrator to recommend any withdrawal of labour, though the drivers' spokesmen are quite • at liberty to do so and, in fact, have organi7ed stoppages from time to time.