Union threatens parking boycott
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LOCAL Authorities that slap parking bans on heavy vehicles could well find their towns being boycotted by members of the United Road Transport Union.
The union's trade group committee decided at the weekend to recommend that action should be organised against towns where stopping for deliveries is made difficult if not impossible.
URTU deputy general secretary Arthur Hughes told CM: "The whole issue has been recommended to be referred to the executive so that they can take action on it. The first step would be to take the matter to the Minister.
"There is a continuing mass of legislation affecting the drivers and it is strangling industry in the towns and putting the drivers' livelihood at stake," he said.
"Now that parking and causing an obstruction are both offences for which a driving licence can be endorsed it is a serious matter."
The action follows a temporary boycott of Newmarket, Suffolk, by drivers in protest at new parking restrictions.
Earlier URTU general secretary Jackson Moore told CM that the restrictions on various towns — none have been picked out for action as yet — were doing a lot of harm to the trades and industry in those towns.
Mr Hughes added: "There are fears for the future of some of the men in these towns," he said, "consequently there could be boycotts of the towns which impose these rules," he warned.
News of the threatened boycott gained some sympathy from the employers' organisations. Road Haulage Association spokesman commented: "I have some sympathy with their problems in trying to earn an honest day's pay.
"But I think that a more effective way of tackling the problem would be for the union to join in an approach to the town in question — reconciliation is better than confrontation," he said.
A Freight Transport Association spokesman was less sympathatehtic. "We view the prospect with concern,he said, "we spend a large proportion of our time seeking compromises with the local authorities between what they want for the environment and getting the goods into the shop.
"This is not necessarily going to help at all. I can understand their frustration in certain circumstances but we can only emphasise the need to join in a productive joint approach," he said.