Suicidal to Throw Away Our Heritage, Says Association
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WHEN presiding at last week's 71st VI' annual general meeting of Liverpool Cart and Motor Owners' Association, MT: J. F. Supplies commented On the fact that the road-transport industry, unlike many other great industries vital to the war effort, and despite the encomiums in the Ministry of War Transport's -" Transport Goes to War" was actually pruned of manpower, instead of being fed with it. Road transport did. not have heavy terminal establishments like the railway companies, hence. the grades of labour withdrawn 'from road haulage were almost exclusiyely engaged in the actual movement a traffic.
In a reference to rates for local cartage work, Mr. Supplies said that it became clear to the Liverpool C0111-mittee of the Hauliers' National Traffic Pool that a rates structure in a more simplified form than that adopted .by the Port of Isiverpool Road Transport CantrOl, Ltd., would have to be formulated to satisfy the Ministry of War Transport.Ministry had issued its.scale of artage rates which closely followed a draft schedule drawn up last September by the Association's rates sub-committee. A system of charging was eventually devised. • Now that the H.N.T.P. had -gone out of existence, the is no contact between the Ministry and the trade
regarding the fixing of rates. . It would appear that the Ministry was the sole arbiter in the matter. The Associa
tion was .particularly interested in dockside cartage rates and should con
tinue to have some say in the fixing of rates, particularly for cartages coming within the scope of its rates book.
" It is possible, in the year which lies ahead, that the Association may be called upon to make a grave decision regarding its future as a local association," said Mr. Supplies, in alluding to the deliberations of the Standing Joint Committee.
" ‘Ye have so far opposed what is known as the' long-term policy and your committee will not take any steps to surrender the proud position which this Association holds without first consulting the membership. There are not only political factors entailed, nor is the disposition of our invested reserves art insuperable obstacle to our being absorbed by a new organization. The problems to be solved, in our opinion, are mainly industrial • in• character.
" It would be suicidal to throw away our heritage and to destroy our efficient • administrative machinery unless we be firmly convinced there waS something to be substituted for them of at least equal benefit and adsTantage to our members."
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