"Nationalize Haulage" Call to Socialists
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FROM OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT
,N CALL for the renationalization of the .1-1 privately owned road haulage industry is to be made at both the T.U.C. and Labour Party conferences this autumn. The preliminary agendas for both conferences, which have just been published, show that road haulage is still very near the top of many Socialists "shopping list " of industries due for public ownership.
Among nearly a score of resolutions dealing with transport policy submitted for the Labour Party conference at Brighton in October is one from the Scottish Horse and Motormen's Association which brings in a new point. It calls for renationalization of road haulage and for a propaganda campaign among commercial road transport workers. But it also calls for a full examination into C licence and C hiring operation "with a view to their integration into the transport system:: A clue to what the union is after is given in the resolution it has submitted for discussion by the T.U.C. This specifically mentions the vast expansion of C and C hiring licences " and their infiltration into long-distance carrying." The resolution calls for the appointment of a committee to formulate the future policy for commercial road transport operatior Most of the other resolutions lay pa ticular stress on the importance formulating a policy for an "integrated transport system and on the need to ri the railways as a public social servic not for profit.
Birmingham Borough Labour Party a little further by suggesting the integr tion of rail and municipal services und a public transport authority to he towards a solution of the transport pro lems of the large conurbations.
On an allied subject. a resolution fro Winchester calls on the Labour Par executive to formulate a national rot policy. This should aim at a nation network of new trunk roads, especial drawn up in such a way that all tow and cities of more than 10,000 inhabitar are by-passed. Where it is found impc sible to build new roads, existin-g tan roads should be widened to take fol lanes of traffic and where new roads a not possible over a reasonable period time steps should be taken to build lii roads so that all towns and cities of mo than 30,000 are effectively by-passed.
Another resolution calls for the abo lion of toll charges on all roads, bridg and tunnels.