Political Commentary By JANUS
Page 71
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Spending the Hours
0 NE or two members took advantage of the opportunities for humour at the somewhat precise wording of the resolution at the Road Haulage Association conference calling for an inquiry into the ways and means of reducing "the number of man-hours spent by members on Association business." There was speculation on the identity of the "not more than five members' who were expected to find a solution to the problem that had for so many years baffled the best brains in the industry. A faintly medical atmosphere clung to the idea that this sub-committee of hidden talent were expected to "carefully examine the existing
constitution." . * For the sponsors of the resolution, the reference to
the constitution was particularly unfortunate. There is still any number of hauliers who remember the protracted negotiations from which the R.H.A. emerged in its present form some 10 years ago. Those hauliers value what they have so painfully won,-and are reluctant to consider any fundamental change. The mere hint of such a change triggers off in them atrain of thought in which the key words are constitution—democracydictatorship. They guard the constitution as jealously as the Americans guard theirs. The form in which the resolution was put made its rejection practically certain.
There is a good deal of 'wisdom in this regard for the integrity of the constitution. It has weathered an unusual succession of storms, and is still probably more suited than any other constitution to the needs of hauliers. F,very operator has the chance, however remote, of holding the highest office in his Association. He is first of all a member in his sub-area, and if he chooses to serve on the local committee he can be elected to the area committee, and from there to the National Council and the committees of that body. There are functional groups to cater for hauliers with special interests,. and the national group committees, made up for the most part by appointment from area group committees, also have their representatives on the Council. .
Reasonably Elastic .
The machinery is reasonably elastic. A committee or sub-committee may be set -up for a special purpose, and disbanded when that purpose is accomplished. There is still in existence, for example, a long-distance panel representing operators whose businesses were compulsorily acquired under the Transport Act, 1947, and who are fighting a protracted rearguard action with the Inland Revenue on the subject of balancing charges. Although their interests are now far removed from those of hauliers in general, the panel continue to function through and remain identified with the Association.
At the other end of the time scale, an interim longdistance committee have been appointed by the operators who have taken advantage of the freedom and free enterprise conferred or implied in the Transport Act, 1953. . The committee are not yet technically a functional group. They have no direct representation on the Council (although, of course, there are many long-distance operators serving on that body), and the method is not consistent by which their members are elected from the areas. But there is no doubt that the committee will in due course settle down into their appropriate place in the Association. A notable feature of the constitution of the R.FI.A. is that it enables so many hauliers to play an active, if sometimes small, part in the affairs of their industry. There may be something like 2,000 members serving on local and group committees. More than one member in every 10 holds an office of some kind. It seems odd, therefore, that the conference resolution should have envisaged amendments in the constitution as a means for saving members' time.
Mr. K. A. Hatcher, who proposed the resolution--and his speech was one of the best half-dozen at the conference—described himself as a lazy man, seldom moved to speech or action unless he saw good reason.— In spite of this, he has been carried on to the Council by the democratic machinery he finds so wasteful of time. If he makes. many more such speeches, he may find himself going still further. He will, perhaps, continue to complain. Many prominent members do. Few of them, however, supported his resolution, and when it comes to the point even fewer resign through overwork.
Beside the Point
It is beside the. point to deplore, as the resolution sought to do, "the number of man-hours spent by members on Association business." The work of an association such as the R.H.A. is very much the business of members, and—in theory atleaSt.—the more they do, the better for themselves and the industry. What the resolution, or the committee that it had in mind, might have probed was not so much the number of man:hOurs as the use to which they are put.
The machinery, is sound in wind and limb, but it is not always set in motion quickly enough. It must have . been obvious as long. as three years ago that special arrangements ought to be made to cater for long-distance operators. The machinery cannot be blamed because the interim committee had been in existence for so short a time. It must have been equally .obvious three years ago that the R.H.A. ought actively to promote and encourage interworking among members, and that hauliers ought to reconsider their attitude towards politics
and politicians. The appearance on the conference agenda of resolutions covering these two points is encouraging. The fact that they were passed is more encouraging still. But the trend of the discussion showed that the ideas prompting the resolutions are still at the embryo stage.
An analysis of the agenda for R.H.A. meetings might show that they are cluttered up with a good deal of business that might be settled in some other way. In their zest for details, committees may try to do too much, or to be over-conscientious, like the gardener who digs his plants up to see how they are getting on. Work can often usefully be delegated to sub-committees, but even this.device can hold up business unless' precise and not too wide terms of reference are given.
Supporters of the conference resolution accurately described the symptoms but may still have been wrong in their diagnosis. It would be wrong to reduce the number of man-hours. Attention should rather be directed towards seeing that none of the man-hours is wasted, or frittered away on details that should be the concern of the paid officials. An inquiry along these lines need not concern itself at all with the Association's constitution_