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Stand up to the Gallic bullies!
Page 66
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Ray Dickson ponders the way the UK panders to French bullying tactics while treating our operators as second class citizens.
Writing this during the Easter break has given me time to reflect on a typical week in the road transport industry.
The daily traffic reports over the Bank Holiday brought an all too familiar pattern:a spate of accidents throughout the UK, particularly on the M25.and the predictable problem at Dover.
It seems that every holiday period is accompanied by a strike by one sector or another of the French economy and the inevitable implementation of Operation Stack.
Perhaps it should more accurately be referred to as Operation Stuck,as our vehicles are frog jammed,so to speak. on the M20.
Presumably, under the WTD, drivers would be able to book this as a period of availability. How typical that we need to have a contingency plan in place for when the French revert to type!
Hard to like the French
I personally, find it very difficult to warm towards a nation that seemingly derives great pleasure from sticking two fingers up at us at every opportunity.
At least the French transport industry has got one thing spot on though being in the same union as the police they can literally be a law unto themselves.
French hauliers, as is the case in several other western European countries, seem to engender respect from their countrymen, which we have never been able to do. However, I believe it is partially our fault that as an industry we are looked down upon as second class citizens-we are all too ready to accept legislation without demur.
While CM has done great work in raising awareness of Pushing 50, should we not also be pushing for access to the plethora of bus lanes in our towns and cities, together with endeavouring to get councils to exempt HGVs from parking restrictions?
Several people, ranging from haulage bosses to employees, have expressed surprise that our industry, which is renowned for its flexibility, has accepted the WTD.
While it rightly protects employees from exploitation, at the other end of the scale it is surely an infringement of human rights! Truck drivers, unlike the bureaucrats who run the country, do not want to spend an increased amount of time form filling and calculating hours. We will need one office member to spend 50% of his time doing nothing but monitoring the WTD.
It's time to stand up
In conclusion, isn't it time that our undervalued, under-appreciated industry started to stand up for what we believe in? The fuel protest proved that our actions have to be taken seriously.
Writing to our MPs is a good first step, but surely a time must come when our anger is sufficiently roused to take appropriate action.
We have taken on board far too much legislative punishment since Blair grinned his way into No 10. Apathy will eventually cause the decline of our industry unless we can convince the public and the government that they need us! •