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Training Board Plans Exclude C-Licensees
Page 42
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BY S. BUCKLEY
QN Monday it became known that the Ministry of Labour will be circulating a draft definition in connection with the setting up of an Industrial Training Board for road transport. In a statement to interested parties the Minister of Labour (Mr. Ray Gunter) said that, following consultations on the application of the Industrial Training Act to the transport industry, he had come to the conclusion that the interest, concerned would be best served by a single training board to include road passenger transport, road haulage and the motor vehicle repair industry.
Also, after consultation with the Central Training Council the Minister has decided to exclude C-licence operators from the scope of this Board.
Whilst the Ministry of Labour was reluctant to expand on this announcement. a spokesman insisted that this Would still be only a draft definition of intention. Opportunity still remained for further consultation before the final definition as to the scope of the measures intended and the actual setting up of a Board for road transport.
Although this implied a further delay, it is understood that the Ministry still expects to substantiate its earlier forecast that an Industrial Training Board for Road Transport will be set up this year.
A spokesman for the Road Haulage Association told The Commercial Motor this week that they would have preferred the Board to have been arranged on the lines of their earlier recommendation, with a separate Board for road goods transport. ,The inclusion of road passenger and motor vehicle repair would involve a multiplicity of employers and unions with possible divergent views.
But it appeared that further consultation could still have effect before the final definition was agreed upon.
"In all our discussions with the Ministry of Labour we have urged that the C-licence vehicle should be included within the scope of a training hoard for road transport. We therefore think that the wrong decision has now been taken from the transport point of view in excluding C-licence vehicles." That was the immediate response of the Traders Road Transport Association to the Minister's decision.
Whilst it seemed unlikely that this basic decision, though still only a draft definition, would be changed the TRTA will now direct all its energies to ensure that adequate consultative machinery is established to link the staff training of both ancillary users and professional hauliers.
It is understood that the Ministry intends to discuss the setting-up of just such machinery in further talks with interested parties. This intention, the TRTA spokesman was convinced, has resulted from the strong representations the TRTA had already made to the Ministry that consultative machinery for this purpose would be essential, it now seemed certain that this aspect was to have thorough and appreciative consideration by the Ministry.