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GOVERNMENT plans to compel large employers to give up one
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third of the seats on their boards to employees have drawn a mixed reaction from the transport industry.
The White Paper on Industrial Democracy, published last week, recommends that companies with over 2,000 employees should enter into the full spirit of the proposals, while firms with 5002,000 employees should set up joint representation committees to discuss major proposals affecting the workforce.
In both cases, the employee representatives would be drawn from trade unions within the company.
Road Haulage Association secretary Eric Russell told CM: "We can't see that this will improve the efficiency of the industry.
"We don't think that the ideas in the White Paper are consistent with business in general and haulage in particular. Decisions about the success of an outfit rely on the proprietor of the business," he added.
Mr Russell concluded his criticism by saying: "We are also concerned that this gives a say to unions, not to workers in general."
The Transport and General Workers Union has issued a guarded welcome to the White Paper, saying that it welcomes any steps towards achieving greater industrial democracy. It adds, however, that it would prefer a single-tier management structure and for equal worker-management representation. "The parity position is essential," says the statement.
The TGWU feels also that steps should be taken now to establish worker directorships in the public sector "whatever happens in the private sector."
One nationalised industry in which there is already a measure of employee participation is the National Bus Company. NBC does not expect the new proposals to have any major effect on its operations. "We'll have to play it by ear," said its Chairman Sir Frederick Wood.
The company had been concerned for some time that it might not be possible to divorce participation from negotiation, but this has occurred in the Midland Red company where experimental central policy committees have been established.
Barr and Wallace Arnold group financial adviser Ronald Crowther was unsure of how the White Paper might affect his group. Much depends apparently on whether the labour force figures refer to .an entire group or to subsidiary corn-. panies. "That may have to go to case law," Mr Crowther told CM.