The Man at the Wheel
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ADVICE ON TRANSPORT PROBLEMS by S. BUCKLEY, ASSOC. INST. T.
TRANSPORT is a large consumer of labour and in the road sector a substantial proportion of its labour force is directly employed in the prime function of operation---namely, the driving of vehicles. Providing the vehicles are gainfully employed such a balance of labour is conducive to high, if not maximum, productivity in that its use of labour has direct relation to the extent of operation. This is in contrast with other sectors of transport where a high proportion of the labour force necessarily has to be employed with only indirect relation to the amount of traffic moved.
But whilst this potential for higher productivity within the road transport sector exists, there, is at the same time a special problem to be resolved in relation to the employment and control of driving staff. This stems largely from the relative freedom which the road transport driver has compared with staff in other industries, or even other sectors of transport. Therefore, both because of the large proportion of staff so employed and because of the direct effect on efficiency which driving staff can have on the economy of the operator as a whole, it is particularly important that the labour aspect of transport operation should be fully examined and reviewed periodically.
As discussed in this series recently efficiency in road transport can be affected, unfortunately adversely in the majority of cases, by eventualities on the public highway outside the control of the operator—comparable incidents which would seldom, if ever, arise within, say, a factory. Moreover, many such eventualities may well have to be dealt. with by the driver on the spot. Here arises a peculiarity in transport operation—namely, that spot
decisions have often to be made at practically all staff levels because of the inherent urgency of transport. Although such practice might be looked at askance by some specialists in the field of labour study and control, a rigid refusal to accept, at. least in part, such delegated responsibility invariably leads to a lowering in the standard of service provided to the customer. In such circumstances it is indeed doubtful policy to bring about such a lowering of standards of service by over-strict control, which provides no leeway to meet eventualities which can arise daily on the road.
Because of the exceptional freedom which a road transport driver enjoys compared with his opposite number in a factory it is natural that the use of a suitable incentive scheme should be considered particularly appropriate. But whilst undoubtedly many such schemes are in operation, the very flexibility and diversification which have been -and continue to be--major factors in the success of road transport tend to complicate, if not mitigate, against such schemes.
In stressing the freedom of the road transport driver, by the same token he could be said to occupy a relatively isolated position for a good proportion of his working day. According to the make-up of the man himself this fact could induce opposing reactions. With the best type of driver such relative isolation engenders responsibility and determination to cope with such unforeseen eventualities as may occur during the working day over and above his scheduled instructions. In well organized haulage businesses, and particularly in transport departments of industrial and commercial concerns, the importance of the delivery driver being the last link in the chain of distribution to the customer can be emphasized to good-effect. Indeed the goodwill and experience existing between road transport drivers and the many customers with whom they are in daily contact, must have a very substantial effect on both transport efficiency and sales promotion.
Any incentive scheme which recognizes such personal characteristics and is designed to reward the additional service they imply is -to be commended. Unfortunately, many incentive schemes are apparently devised on a negative basis—or at least appear so because of inept presentation. It is, of course, common knowledge that the very freedom which a road transport driver inevitably enjoys can be abused. Equally, in these days of full or near full employment, recruitment of the type of staff peculiarly suited to road transport drivers becomes increasingly difficult. But any attempt to deal with the admittedly difficult situation by an incentive scheme with a prime objective of restriction rather than encouragement is doomed to failure. Moreover, such failure would not be restricted to the limited success, if any, by which it curbed untoward activities, but also—and possibly with more longterm effects—the resentment engendered amongst the conscientious drivers on the staff. In this context no incentive scheme can be a substitute for management itself.
Another aspect which requires special consideration in relation to the employment of road transport drivers as compared with other workers is in the matter of health. c25 Whilst this is of general concern to all employers, because the road transport driver is operating on a public highway, the employer has additional obligations and accordingly extra care has to be taken. For this reason not only bus companies, but many of the larger companies operating fleets of goods vehicles, arrange for all drivers to be medically examined on taking up their employment. Additionally, where long-service employees continue in the capacity of drivers medical check-ups are required periodically from, say the age of 50 onwards.
Closely allied to medical examinations is the requirement made by many companies that new employees should meet
a certain standard of driving efficiency. Where this applies many such companies have found it more convenient for a third party, such as a driving school catering specially for commercial vehicles, to be responsible for such tests. From experience it has been found that ability in operational or engineering aspects of transport are not necessarily a qualification for conducting a driving test. Even where such ability is not in question the personnel so concerned would inevitably be diverted from their normal duties whilst such tests were being conducted. A secondary factor in favour of tests being conducted by a third party, though not so obvious initially, is that where the result of the driving test proved unsatisfactory this is accepted with better grace than would be the case if the test were conducted by a potential employer. Where the fleet of vehicles operated is sufficiently large to include a variety of types, some organizations consider it is justified in requiring driving staff to undergo further tests before transferring from one type of vehicle to another appreciably different or larger.
Temperament of a Driver In addition to physical standards, the temperament of a driver is obviously of great importance to a potential employer. This applies not only as the driver of a vehicle showing consideration for other road users, but also the driver's attitude towards customers where he is on the type of work which brings him into daily contact with them. Here again there could be a marked difference in the type of employee who rimy be suitable for solely driving duties but not when dealing with the public as in retail delivery.
Closely related to a driver's temperament is the aspect of safety.' Coupled with such temperament is the driver's reaction to his conditions of employment, including, of course pay, and it is in this field that there could be room for improvement by some employers, not necessarily in the actual conditions themselves but in their presentation. For considerable periods of his working,day, particularly if he is a long-distance driver, such men will have the opportunity to nurse and probably magnify any grievance—real or imaginary—to the detriment of working efficiency. In such circumstances it would be specially unfortunate if such a grievance was largely imaginary, resulting from ignorance as to the real facts which in turn was, to some extent, caused by an employer's failure to communicate fully with his staff. All too often garage and depot notice boards are full of strictures as to what men must not do. Except for details of duties to be performed there is seldom much information of a positive nature as to their entitlements.
The statutory minimum remuneration for drivers of motor vehicles and some other haulage workers is deterpined by the proposals made by the Road Haulage Wages Council and subsequently approved or amended by the Minister of Labour. The current Road Haulage Wages Order R.H. (78) came into operation on May 4 and a copy is obtainable from H.M. Stationery Office, price 2s. Part one contains tables of minimum remuneration and scale of c26 overtime payment according to the three alternative locations of a driver's home depot. Other variables relate to the age of a driver if under 21 and also the size of vehicle operated.
Although primarily this Wages Order concerns drivers of Aor B-licensed vehicles—that is, the professional haulier, there is a requirement that road haulage workers employed in connection with any goods vehicle used under a C-licence shall be paid fair wages. This is assumed to be the case if the wages paid are in accordance with or similar to a trade union agreement. Where that is not the case then a C-licensed driver's wage is considered to be fair if it is similar to those paid to Aand B-licensed drivers. Overall, therefore, although specific statutory wage rates are limited to Aand B-licensed drivers those paid to drivers of C-licensed vehicles tend to be similar.
An Assurance
Where a driver of a C-licensed vehicle is, in fact, paid according to the current rate as shown in R.H. (78), then this practice would have the advantage from the driver's point of view that the statutory rates are readily available and he would have the assurance that he was receiving similar pay to that made to a large proportion of haulage drivers. The fact that a man is receiving an equitable amount compared with similar workers is, psychologically. virtually as important as the total amount in the pay packet.
However, despite this relative simplicity, for both driver and employer, it is considered that on many occasions the pay of a C-licensed driver is best related to pay and conditions applying in the industry concerned. This would be the case particularly in some of the more prosperous industries where total take-away pay, inclusive of overtime or bonus rates, is high. Additionally, both management and workers' representatives might consider it more convenient to cover all workers, including drivers of ancillary vehicles, in their negotiations. However, where some form of bonus payment adds appreciably to the workers in the industries concerned then some means would have to be found to relate such a bonus to the pay of vehicle drivers.