Glicensees Oppose Wages Control Evidence Before Government Committee of Inquiry
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by Body Representing 17 National Organizations EVIDENCE on behalf of the AssoL.-related Committee of C Licence Holders was heard, last week, by the Government committee of inquiry into wages and conditions. The committee of inquiry consists of Sir James Heinle (chairman), Sir Gerald Bellhouse and Mr. John Forster.
The statement of evidence of the Associated Committee of C Licence Holders, submitted by Mr. W. Herman Kent, secreM.ry of the National Federation of . Grocers' and Provision Dealers' Associations, was put forward on behalf of 17 national organizations.
Certain requirements of the Road and Rail Traffic Act, 1933—including the operation of the fair-wages clause —for A and B-licence holders, did not apply to holders of C licences, it was pointed out. The ancillary users submitted that the reasons which led Parliament to decide in 1933 in favour of such exclusion were equally valid to-day, and that circumstances did not justify a reversal of that decision.
It had apparently been suggested, went on the statement, that a measure of failure in the operation of the fairwages conditions of the 1933 Act in relation to A and B licences was due to C licences not being subject to the requirements, by reason of which it was argued that ancillary users were so competing with general hauliers as to make it difficult for the latter to comply with the requirements attaching to their licences.
Holders of C licences strongly dissent from this view," continued the statement. " In the first place, there can be no real comparison between hauliers 1020 carry for hire or reward, and the C.-licence holder who conducts his own business. The latter, being Prohibited from carrying for hire or reward, is not in the same open market competing with haulage contractors or the railway companies."
The smooth and efficient working of the ancillary users' trades generally depended upon their control of the means for transport of their goods. Drivers of the vehicles acted not only as drivers but as agents of their employers for such purposes as collection of cash, taking of orders, and dealing with complaints. In such circumstances, the carriage of the goods could not be handed over to public hauliers without damaging the business.
Degree of competition Between C-licensees and Hauliers.
The degree, if any, to which celicensees competed with general hauliers must be small in relation to the whole of the transport of goods effected by C-licence vehicles. A large, although unascertainable, proportion of ancillary use' vehicles did distribution work which had been developed by the motor. Such work had not been in the past, and would not in the future be put out to a contractor, such as haulier or railway company.
" It is submitted that the contention that failure on the part of A and BEcence holders to comply with the requirements attadting to their licences as -regards fair wages and conditions -is, in part, due to .0 vehkles not being subject to such requirements, cannot be justified upon the facts," the statement continued.
The memorandum of evidence added that insurance premiums for 'C-licence vehicles -were substantially less than those for A or B vehicles. These, it was contended, showed conclusively that C nriachines were a better risk than A and B vehicles; there was no case for the extension of --control of ancillary users' vehicles on the ground of public safety.
• "Traders of all types fear that. at some future time, transport may be in the hands of a monopoly, which, by virtue of its position, would be able to increase transport costs," the statement declared. "The present ability of C-licence -holders to own their own vehicles and to control their own costs effectually provides a guarantee against a monopoly and excessive transport charges. It is to be hoped that this present freedom Will not be sjeopardized.'' The -associated committee urged the committee. of, inquiry to recommend that it was "impracticable to apply the fair-wages clause to the case of the private carrier."
Mr. Kent pointed out that the development of-.. the road-haulage industry was brought about -largely by the •development of the petrol-driven vehicle. The work that was being done by the C-licence holder was -mainly the substitution of the petrol-driven vehicle for the horsed cart. This work was -there years ago and had merely changed, its form.
The chairman: " There were also horse -carriers? "---s" Yes, but the larger percentage was carried by rail."
After hearing detailed evidence from some of -the 17 organizations supporting the general statement of the associated ccsmninthe, the committee of inquiry adjourned its 'hearings until December 14.