HOURS
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Revolt spreads but not to Ministers?
A REVOLT against the EEC eight-hour driving day— sparked off by the French—has now spread to Belgium, where operators are threatening to take their vehicles off the road if their Government does not go back to a 10-hour day. But the Common Market Transport Ministers are not scheduled to discuss the hours dilemma at their meeting in Luxembourg next week.
The possibility of Europe-wide opposition to the eighthour day is now real. France has officially decided not to comply, the Belgian Government is under strong pressure to follow suit, in Holland it is not enforced, and the British Minister is seeking at least a two years' delay.
Meanwhile, it seems, the Ministers who can react to such opinions do not intend to discuss the matter until at least December. Hopes of a joint deal, as far as Britain is concerned, on hours as well as gross weights now seem dashed. The British delegation has no intention of raising the weights question again next week.