IHF to consider permit action
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MEMBERS of the International Hauliers Federation are to meet again on February 2 to consider action in support of their claim for a fairer allocation of international haulage permits.
The news follows a letter from Jo Richardson, Labour MP for Barking, saying that she had been told that answers to six questions she had asked on behalf of the IHF had been answered by Transport Under Secretary John Horam.
Miss Richardson said in her letter that Mr Horam had referred her to the Department of Transport's report on permits, Road Haulage Permits, published in October, for her answers.
She had asked Mr Horam about alternative methods of issuing permits at ports, allocation procedures and international quotas, as well as investigations into the misuse of permits.
IHF chairman Ken Bachmann told the 32 members at the meeting that this was another letter "fobbing them off' in the same manner as when approaches to other MPs had been made.
The meeting — with only about a third of the attendance of the previous meeting — de cided to adopt Continental Freight Drivers Club regional officer Danny Sproud on to its committee and left the question of action in support of its claims to the next meeting.
A two-hour meeting made no decisions on further action or finance and organisation, and the question of affiliation to the Continental Freight Drivers' Club is to be taken up at the next CFDC national executive meeting.
Mr Bachmann and committee member Ray Walker fought to stave off a proposal of action including the blocking of access to the port of Dover by IHF member Roy Palmer.
They told the meeting that any action like this would mean the loss of any media support that the Federation had gained — and that would be disastrous.