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Clear the Decks for Action

8th September 1944
Page 19
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Page 19, 8th September 1944 — Clear the Decks for Action
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

THE extraordinary progress made by the Forces of the United Nations during the past few weeks encourages all except, pos sibly, the true Nazi element amongst our enemies to hope that this war—at least, so far as the Continent is concerned—will come to a reasonably early conclusion. This possibility emPhasizes the need for expediting all practical and useful preparations for the years following the cessation of hostilities.

There are still numerousmatters which require clearing up, also problems which must be solved at the earliest possible moment. There is, for. example, the more or less united representation of the road-transport industry, so far as its various classes of vehicle operator are concerned. The so-called Perry plan has had, for years, in its melting pot most of the more important representative bodies, and whilst there has been a certain amount of frictional heat, originating from various sources, the warmth of friendliness has, apparently, not yet rendered the contents ready for pouring into the new moulds.

Draft memoranda and articles of association have been in hand for some months, and -although they appear to have been accepted by the majority, if not all, of those intimately affected, there seems to exist some check upon further progress. Meanwhile, other associations, particularly those professing to deal wholly or mainly with the affairs of the smaller. men in the haulage sphere, have been brought into being, the latest only a few days ago.

Delay Liable to Curb Enthusiasm If the National Road Transport Federation, together with its various autonomous bodies, is to bask in the light of day, it must get busy, otherwise its prospects may be darkened and the original enthusiasm which inspired it will have faded.

There arc' manytasks awaiting—and this for far too long—a representative body with sufficient power and prestige to make its opinions authoritative and worthy of the attention of the Government and trade and industry in general. If such an organization does not get on with the job quickly, it will not be onPy a voiv crying in the wilder ness but merely. a squeak. One task before it should be to counter the call for nationalization, which is becoming so prevalent in certain quarters, and to which consideration was recently given at a long meeting of the general council of the Trades Union Congress. If the industry waits much longer to counter such proposals. there may be no need for a federation of the organizations to be constituted, for there may be no transport industry, even with a limited freedom of action.

As a comparison, look at the progress made by the proposed Institute of Road Transport Engineers. The first meeting concerned with this was held on April 28 this year, and the memorandum and articles of association concerning it are now under consideration by the Board of Trade. Admittedly, there are not so many conflicting interests concerned ; in fact, there was a remarkable degree of unanimity of purpose displayed by all those who are helping to found this new body. This progress does go to indicate, however, that there may be involved in the long preparatory work for the new set-up in the industry's affairs something more than meets the eye.

A Strong Case Must Be Stated ' Road transport is one of the largest industries in the country, and one which in normal times, and possibly now, employs far more people than do all the railways. Yet it has not received, and will not gain, the same consideration as Other means for transport unless it can state its, case cogently and powerfully. It should be in a position to take up the cudgels immediately any threat is made against the industry or any section of it, whether by other interests or those anti-road transport personalities who infest both Houses of Parliament and at least some of the Ministries.

. If we cannot soon have a federation, for goodness' sake let us have something. There is, of course, the Standing Joint Committee of Road Hauliers' National Organizations, but this is claimed to be by no means fully representative, even of hauliers. If this be the case, why not make it more so? Why should it not modify its title and embody representatives from every roadtransport body in the country—at least, as a temporary Jmeasure, until the N.R.T.F. becomes less of a shadow.

It is time to forget self-interest, bickering between small and large operators, and fancied, or even real, grievances. The future of the whole industry is at stake, and all in it must become allies, for while all these large and small bodies fiddle, that for which we are all striving in one way or another may be lost.

Some people in the industry are placing a good deaf of reliance upon the work which is being car ried out by the British Road Federation. The recent report of this body, entitled Roads and Road Transport,— together with its various appendices, was an excellent piece of constructive work, but the B.R.F. has not available, so far as we are aware, the complete organization and staff required to deal with all those matters of detail which constitute much of the activity of an association such as the A.R.O., the C.M.U.A., or the bodies representing the passenger side of the industry. It is, therefore, at least for the present, necessarily confined to the major items of policy, etc.

The Power of the B.R.F.

There is nothing derogatory, either intended or implied, in these remarks concerning the limitations of the Federation. With its extensive membership, comprised of national associations covering almost every sphere of industry in the country, it should be able to command power and force respect for its views. It should, therefore, be able to fulfil a. mosf valuable function.

So far as the new hauliers' section of the National Conference of Clearing Houses is concerned, this has, no doubt, been brought into being for the reasons that we have stated in the earlier part of this article. It is probably also partly the result of disappointment at the reluctance to give the clearing houses credit for what the good ones amongst them have achieved, and at least a place in the sun. Also, naturally, they will be almost entirely dependent upon the smaller hauliers for their transport requirements. At the same time, it seems tous to be a little regrettable that still another body to cater for the needs of the small hauliers has been brought into being. Unless some measure of co-operation has already been arranged by the two, there may be competition for likely members between this hauliers' section and the Hauliers' Mutual Federation.

All Hauliers Need a Voice There are, of course, many thousands of the smaller men in haulage who, even now, belong to no organized body, and Some people may be inclined to the belief that it will not matter much to what association they link themselves, so long as they are placed in a position of having a voice in matters of fundamental interest to them, and to the haulage industry as a whole. However, it would have been better if this could have been achieved without, introducing any possibilit3 of a further clashing of interests.

There is a point to consider, however: that the H.M.F. has joined itself with the Council of Retail Distributors, so that now each section amongst the smaller hauliers will have a different link. It might, of course, be possible for those concerned with clearing houses also to ally their interests with the retail distributors; such a move would provide a common meeting ground.


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