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VOSA union 'unconvinced' by ATF strategy

3rd September 2009
Page 7
Page 7, 3rd September 2009 — VOSA union 'unconvinced' by ATF strategy
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CM COVER STORY

TRADE UNION Prospect has called on VOSA to abort its Authorised Testing Facilities (ATFs) migration strategy in order to protect small hauliers from rising costs and to help maintain road safety standards.

Prospect, which represents staff at VOSA, says us Members are not convinced by the concept of ATFs.

The union has praised the findings of the Transport Select Com mittee's report on the enforcement activities of VOSA, published last week, which recommends the agency retains a network of sites to maintain adequate coverage for annual testing throughout the UK (CM 27 August).

'The issue we have is that road safety [standards' needs to be maintained, so there are concerns about test station closures when there are still no permanent ATFs in place," says Prospect secretary Kevin Warden.

VOSA has already closed two stations this year in Par (St Austell), Cornwall and Bredbury, Cheshire, hut, ahead of planned closures at Llandrindod Wells, Wales, and Stec ton, West Yorkshire, before March 2010, operators have expressed anger and say they will be 'inconvenienced:

Last week, VOSA chief operating officer Alex Fiddies told CM that plans to shift 85% of annual tests to privately run facilities by 2013 would be "ideal':

The union warned the committee that smaller hauliers in remote areas might have to travel further to find an alternative testing site.

Warden adds: "We are yet to he convinced that ATFs benefit operators or our members."

A VOSA spokeswoman says: "We will be responding formally to the Transport Select Committee report in due course, and we have recently launched a full consultation on our fees.

The unions are being fully involved in the 'Testing Transformation Programme" Warden says the union will not back down and it will continue to campaign for a slowdown of the station closures.

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