No haven at Scarborough
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HE WEATHER at Scarborough ist week during the RHA conferrice matched the mood of the aulage industry — it was lining. I know that RHA chairIan Ken Rogers had said that aulage is a barometer of the dustrial climate but that was 'king things too far, In his opening conference )eech Mr Rogers had told the legates: "Let us look back at e Scarborough conference as e time we started to turn the )rner."
Although John Silberman did ly that the recession gives the )ulage industry the incentive to im down and become more et:lent and indeed one delegate Aeved that the industry would ;come so efficient that any :hides mothballed now will 3ver again be needed, by the Dse of the conference it was )parent that Mr Rogers' optieism was wide of the mark. If w of the delegates could offer ty realistic ideas to dispel desindency, they may have found dace in the fact that they were it alone.
The main theme of the conferice was Haulage in Crisis and is was tackled by a syndicate. le 150-odd delegates divided :o three groups under the airmanship of Noel Wynn, hn Silbermann and John idgley. These sessions probly produced the most useful 3cussions.
Obviously talk mainly centred Dund the problem of how to t haulage rates back up. First )p was to get the supply of haulage reduced so that it was more in line with the present low level of demand. The syndicates approached this from three angles; reducing their own fleets, stopping yet more hauliers setting up in business, and removing the less desirable fringe operators already working. But how did they intend to achieve these ends?
Reducing their fleet size meant either selling or laying-up vehicles. John Silbermann pointed out that selling vehicles at the moment is hardly attractive with the secondhand market paying such low prices — he spoke of vehicles that would normally fetch £15,000 now going for just under £5,000. And even if you do sell them, a new operator could set up in business using your cheaply acquired vehicles and be able to undercut you.
But the alternative — laying up vehicles — is not attractive either, despite Ken Rogers' urging that this is done. Standing costs have still to be borne.
Eastern area chairman Joe Phillips suggested a deal with the finance companies whereby hauliers could have repayments suspended on laid-up vehicles. Ken Rogers replied that such a scheme had been put to the finance houses during last winter's haulage strike and had been reasonably well received. John Silbermann said that it was likely that only a twoor three-month respite would be given and this wouldn't be long enough.
Laying-up vehicles also entails laying-off drivers as well, but delegates had two suggestions here. Bradford haulier Chris Wright spoke highly of the shorttime working compensation available through the Government which gives drivers 75 per cent of their basic weekly wage to a maximum of £90 per week for up to 26 weeks. "It's a way of keeping your men together," he pointed out.
The other idea was the lowering of the pensionable age for lorry drivers. This would reduce some of the over-supply of drivers and mean less redundancy payments.
How did the conference suggest that new hauliers could be deterred from entering the market? (As if the present rate wouldn't do this anyway.) Many delegates seemed to favour a quality licencing system which physically restricted the numbers. John Midgley's syndicate thought hauliers should actually have to produce proof of need before getting an 0licence.
But this would involve new legislation and here the delegates were almost unanimous — the haulage industry must not look to the Government for any help. "Helping the haulier is not a good political platform," commented John Silbermann. Derek Good of Pioneer Haulage went further: "Never trust politicians. Legislation is so slow that by the time you get it you don't need it!"
Once again it was John Silbermann's syndicate that came up with some practical suggestions. Greater enforcement of the existing licensing regulations would help, bringing higher operating standards and "stopping the less than reputable hauliers who are cutting ex ensive corners." He also urged iat the police used their powers I objection more often in new -licence applications, But there are also ways the idustry can help itself, declared lr Silbermann. Hauliers should et closer to their customers and a-operate with them. The cus)mers will almost certainly be )eling the pinch as well and DuId well appreciate a better nderstanding with the haulier.
Having a closer relationship lay also make the haulier more esistant to rate cutting from rther operators, and hauliers hould get together with one nd other as well — they might ind a surprising amount of cornnon ground.
Long-standing conference atender E.B.R. (Ted) Smith agreed vith this self-help policy and ,aid that the first step is to go for low wage settlement in the :orning pay round — preferably iothing at all.
The whole question of wages vas roundly discussed hroughout the conference after eading CBI economist Dermot 3lynn had introduced the iubject when he said that aritain's tendency to award itself inrealistically high wage in;reases for no improvement in )utput had lead to the econony's present plight.
Mr Glynn thought the ecolomy was going to get worse Defore it got better, with the ex;eption of inflation which should all to 12 per cent by mid-1981.
He reported that the Germans are expected to achieve five per -;ent pay settlements and the Jaaanese will be nearer the two Der cent mark. With this in mind VIr Glynn said that CBI members are determined to negotiate Nage increases "very much into single figures" and the haulage industry must do the same.
While all the delegates seemed unanimous that "the norm must be nil" they were certainly not in agreement about the haulage industry's negotiation tactics and machinery — the Joint Industrial Councils. Director-general George Newman had given a veiled lead in his speech by pointing out that not all hauliers had to follow the pay settlements reached by the'JICs — only those who had "signified their assent."
The split in the ranks of the delegates didn't become apparent until the closing minutes of the conference when the general discussion was held. Delegates lost no time in displaying their feelings, parti cuarly Joe Phillips who asked if it was technically possible to disband his area (Eastern) JIC merely by calling a meeting.
The general feeling was that the JICs were not effective and were being taken for a ride by the unions — national talks were generally reckoned to be preferable.
Chairman Ken Rogers effectively closed the matter by promising to discuss the role of the JICs at the next RHA executive board meeting.
In direct contrast to the hardhitting no-nonsense economic predictions of Dermot Glynn was the paper delivered by deputy chairman of the National Freight Company and chairman of the Port of London Authority Victor Paige. As usual, he concentrated on the human aspects of management with the basic message that you should value your staff like capital assets and really talk to them all year round, not just at the annual pay negotiations.
Mr Paige laced his speech with telling quotes and humorous asides. The long round of applause from delegates suggested they welcomed this touch of light relief.
In addition to the Haulage in Crisis syndicate there were two others held at this conference — one on overcoming tachograph problems and another on the subject of publicising the Road Haulage Association and th( haulage industry.
The tachograph syndicate al most surprised itself when it be came apparent that driver oppo sition was not an overwhelminc problem in the introduction o the tachograph.
Ted Haines of P & 0 transpor Services pointed out that thi amount of driver opposition de pends on the current industria relations in the company Another delegate said that it i not generally the drivers who re ject the tachograph, it's the locE union officers. None of the dele gates reported that they wer, having to pay drivers extra ti use the tachograph. The finer cial problems of introducing th device figured largely in th discussion, but it was generall accepted that the extra cost could and must be offset by th better control the tachograp offers.
Glyn Samuel of Flower Transport stressed that th tachograph must not be treate as just a replacement for the lo.c book — it should be treated as source of factual information t benefit both the operator an the driver. The informatio should be used with the err phasis on corrective rather tha disciplinary measures.
Managing director of BR David White pointed out that a current tachographs, wheth( cable or electrically driven, wi be obsolete in five years when tachograph will resemble an ai :raft "black box" flight recorder ind offer far more information. Most delegates supported the ;uggestion that all new vehicles ;hould be fitted with a tachoraph that was already callrated and asked that the RHA King pressure to bear on the ehicle manufacturers to ensure his.
The number and spread of alibration stations attracted a ittle discussion with some • eople fearing that the proposed 50 stations would not be nough. Others would have prewed similar less costly stations nd possibly being able to calirate their own vehicles, as done ) Holland.
Ron Butt, of West Midlandsased Morris Transport said mere were no problems with tchographs, except possibly for me weakness of their drive ables. He suggested that perators should opt for the lectrically-driven type rhenever possible.
Head of communications at me National Freight Company rian Cottee chaired the publicy syndicate. Some of his daleates, he reported, turned out to e frustrated public relations Kecutives and had plenty of ideas, even running to making films and advertising in national papers.
There was general support for the RHA publicity activities including the Compact Campaign 40ft 40-tonne triaxle artic outfit which, incidentally, was parked outside the conference hotel. (Was the driver really sleeping in it?) Many of the delegates were also in favour of a more localised approach to publicity with individual areas or members doing more to publicise their local activities — it was suggested that a visit of the national chairman should be accompanied by a little razzamatan.
There was also a feeling that the RHA could tell its members more about what it was doing for them. Similarly, communications from the head office down to the areas could also be improved.
But in the end, said Mr Cottee, it all boils down to how much you are going to spend and where you are going to spend it. Do you aim purely for the decision makers such as local authorities, the Department of Transport, and Members of Parliament or do you spread the jam thinly and try and reach the general public?
The attendance at this year's conference was down, with about 155 delegates turning up and when RHA staff were excluded from this total, roughly 135 companies were represented. The average attendance in past years has been between 200 to 250 and the Association partially attributes this year's lower figure to the venue of the conference.
The RHA normally heads for the South Coast every October: maybe Scarborough wasn't so attractive for some. But perhaps the lower attendance reflected more vividly than any of the discussions at the conference its Haulage in Crisis theme. After all, the RHA does have 15,000 members.
There was a great deal of talking and the Haulage in Crisis discussions in particular did throw up some interesting ideas — some of the delegates probably found it instructive. But I suspect that those who attended primarily had their fears confirmed — there are no easy solutions. Immediate past Chairman John Silbermann summed it up: "I believe that very few or perhaps no hauliers in the UK will show a profit in 1980."
OPictures by Dick Ross