Lords postpone Docks Bill attack
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AN ATTEMPT to ensure that lorry drivers will not have to hand over their vehicles to dockers when they arrive at a port has been postponed for the time being.
Though not convinced by Government reassurances, critics of the Dock Work Regulation Bill last week agreed to withdraw an amendment which would have kept dockers' hands off lorries, but promised to return to the subject later on.
The amendment had been introduced by Tory Lord Lyell, who explained that its purpose was to permit drivers of transport and other vehicles whose normal use was mainly on public roads to drive their vehicles right inside the dock area if they so desired.
He noted that the roll-on roll-off ports, together with the road haulage industry, were particularly concerned about this part of the Bill.
It was not made clear that the driving of normal commercial road vehicles within the port area was not dock work and would not necessarily be classified as such.
There was a worry that the Bill as drafted would allow registered dock workers, who might not have heavy goods vehicle licences or the necessary experience, to drive such vehicles whether they were fixed axle lorries or had trailers.
He believed there was a risk that operators of road transport vehicles might not want to use the larger ports and might seek to use non-Scheme ports or the smallest ports.
Explaining Government thinking, Lord Jacques said it had been made clear that it was certainly not envisaged that the driving of such vehicles within dock estates should in general be classified as dock work.
There were, however, some cases where it might be consi dered appropriate to classify such work. For example there could be cases where, as a matter of practice, convenience or efficiency, vehicles were left in dock parks by their drivers and driven on board by dockers.
The fears expressed in some quarters that the Bill as drafted would lead to a general take-over of driving lorries within dock estates by registered dock workers were unjustified, maintained Lord Jacques. He did not think that the Transport and General Workers' Union would be very happy if drivers were threatened in that way because he imagined that they had far more drivers than dockers in their membership.