At last, the French pay up for blocks
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• Compensation claims are finally being settled, two years after UK hauliers were caught up in a blockade organised by French lorry drivers.
The Road Haulage Association says its members have so far received around £350,000 out of a total bill for £1.2m. "As more money comes in, and is seen to be coming in, people are taking the advice of the French authorities and are resubmitting claims that were abandoned earlier," says a spokesman.
Framptons International says 60% of its claim for more than £20,000 was received at the end of last month. "I am surprised," says transport manager Richard Fry. "At one stage it was looking very, very pessimistic."
The Shepton Malletbased company had 20 trucks caught up in the dispute over pay and conditions in November 1996. Fry says making the claims has been an enormous drain on management resources: "They had put up every barrier they could but it was not a brick wall—just lots of hurdles."
Following the blockade 229 hauliers submitted claims totalling £1.8m. A similar but less damaging blockade in November last year led to further claims.
The RHA says: "We have a long way to go, but we have at last managed to break the deadlock."