Supplementary memorandum by The Transport
and General Workers' Union (RH 14A)
1. THE EXTENT
TO WHICH
REGULATIONS ARE
IGNORED IN
THE ROAD
HAULAGE INDUSTRY
The TGWU would like to refer the Committee to the
results of a recent Vehicle Inspectorate operation, which highlights
the extent to which regulations are being ignored in the road
haulage industry.
Operation Mermaid took place on 22 September
1999. A total of 1,925 HGVs were checked for mechanical defects,
with a total of 423 (22 per cent) issued with either immediate
or delayed prohibitions as a result. The main defect for which
prohibition notices were issued was brakes.
A total of 1,436 vehicles were checked for traffic
offences. 30 per cent (439) of the vehicles were given verbal
warnings for minor infringements including drivers hours and overloading
offences.
To summarise:
— just over one in five HGVs were found
to have mechanical defects, mainly relating to their brakes;
— almost one in three HGVs were found
to have infringed traffic laws, such as drivers' hours and overloading.
The TGWU believes that the results of this operation
give a reasonable snap shot of the extent to which abuse of safety
regulations is endemic within the road haulage industry.
2. THE PAY
OF DRIVERS
AND THE
USE OF
INCENTIVE SCHEMES
The TGWU would like to highlight to the Committee
the results of a survey of T&G members working in the road
haulage industry conducted by the TGWU Midlands region and published
in May 1998.
This survey, which was based on a sample of
1,843 TGWU members found that:
— nearly half (45 per cent) were paid
between £4 and £4.99 an hour indicated the extent of
low pay within the industry. One in 20 (5 per cent) were paid
below £4 an hour. The drivers who earned less than £4
an hour included lorry, van, car delivery and transporter drivers,
HGV1 and 2 drivers. Over half of the respondents who drove HGVs
were paid less than £5 an hour.
— Over half of respondents (58 per
cent) had an average weekly wage of £300 or below. 53 per
cent had an average weekly wage of £250 or less. 68 per cent
of those working on local deliveries, 53 per cent of short haul
drivers, 50 per cent of medium haul drivers, 44 per cent of long
haul—national and 56 per cent of long haul—continental
drivers earned less than £250 a week. Respondents in both
categories earned less than the average for all manual workers
found by the New Earnings Survey of April 1997 (£309).
— 19.7 per cent of respondents were
paid performance related pay and 4.8 per cent were paid mileage
related bonuses. 1.8 per cent were paid both.
— Of those respondents who earned less
than £300 a week, 21.4 per cent said performance related
pay and/or mileage related bonuses contributed in some way to
their average weekly wage.
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