Chart a course to safety
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• A group of HGV drivers is launching a "Drivers' Charter" to highlight what it says are the increasingly unsafe conditions in which many drivers are forced to work.
Low rates are encouraging a growing number of hauliers to put pressure on employees to break hours laws, it says, and inadequate enforcement is allowing offenders to get away with it.
The group, NW HGV Drivers for Public Safety & Drivers Rights, plans a public meeting in Manchester next month to draw attention to the problem. It has invited local councillors, police and fire chiefs, the Health and Safety Executive and MPs for the launch of its charter, demanding shorter hours and more overtime pay for drivers.
Its founder, Jack Crossfield, is the Transport and General Workers Union branch secretary for Greater Manchester, but he stresses that the TGWU is not running the campaign: "We've got members of other unions and non-union people involved," he says. "We want to bring all interested groups together, We're seeing a situation today where more and more companies are forcing drivers to break the law. The drivers are keeping themselves employed by these silly tricks."
He does not believe that roadside enforcement checks are a deterrent: "There aren't the bodies on the ground," he says. "The police and Ministry will tell you that. And, because most drivers have CB radios, they get to know where any checks are and they avoid the area."
The meeting is scheduled for 10:00hrs in the Mechanics Centre on Princess Street, Manchester on 10 May.