NFC 'sell-out' says TGWU
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THE TRANSPORT and General Workers' Union has criticised the Government's privatisation plans and, in particular, has attacked the National Freight Consortium sell-off.
In a document entitled Crisis in British Transport, the Union said that the backward conditions encountered by many drivers in driving and duty time, for example, indicated a need for greater Government control and an extension of public ownership.
"But not unusually, the Government has allowed its dogmatic belief in private ownership to overrule any objective analysis of the industry and its problems," the union said.
Moving on to the NFC, the union said: "The NFC had managed to become market leader and improve operating standards. Its reward was to be sold off.
"And although many shares were sold to employees of the company, they now know that the simple possession of such shares has brought them neither any degree of control over the company nor job security."
The union said that the sale of NFC was the starting point of the Government's privatisation plans in the transport industry, and hinted at the possibility of returning to private highways.
On more general subjects, the union said that the recession had hit the haulage industry especially hard, leaving many drivers out of work and providing employers with an excuse to keep pay and conditions at a low standard.
It said that jobs and rates had been cut and that vehicles were not being replaced as often as they should be. Repairs and maintenance were also being forgotten.
Repairs of roads also concerned the union. It said that the roads were in an extremely poor state, with needy repair work being prevented by financial constraints.
"A study by the British Road Federation says that bad roads are a factor in 28 per cent of accidents. Congestion on the roads .. compounds this problem."
This situation had been worsened by the Government's decision to allow 38-tonne vehicles on the roads, the union said. It said that this move makes driving harder, and reduces jobs and causes more environmental damage.