§ 20. Mr. Mawbyasked the Secretary of State for Transport what he estimates will be the average increase in haulage charges resulting from the recent haulage dispute.
§ 33. Mr. Montgomeryasked the Secretary of State for Transport what he estimates will be the average increase in haulage charges resulting from the recent haulage dispute.
§ Mr. William RodgersThe settlement seems likely to raise the industry's costs on average by about 8 per cent. but it is not possible to predict at this stage how this will be reflected in charges to its customers.
§ Mr. MawbyI am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. Has he also taken into account the actions by bodies such as the Port of London Authority in charging up to £10 per container per day demurrage for containers which were kept there because of the strike, which had nothing to do with those who operated them?
§ Mr. RodgersYes, I hope that I have taken account of that. Although this will not affect all the road haulage companies, I appreciate that it might in certain circumstances help to determine their future costs. However, despite all the problems, I hope that as large a part of this increase as can be absorbed will be and that the industry will make, as it has been making—I do not want to undervalue it—a valuable contribution to our industrial performance.
§ Mr. John Ellisrose—
§ Mr. SpeakerMr. Ellis.
§ Mr. SpeakerI called the hon. Gentleman to put a supplementary question.
§ Mr. EllisI am one of those hon. Members who do not presume on your courtesy, Mr. Speaker.
Will my right hon. Friend comment on the fact that in region no. 10, based on Hull, a settlement was reached on the first day of the road haulage dispute and that it was only the road hauliers accepting the instructions of their London office to renege on that obligation that cost us anything in that dispute in that area?
§ Mr. RodgersI would not want to comment now on matters which arose in this dispute. I am concerned only that the costs which inevitably fall on the industry are absorbed as far as possible and are not passed on.
§ Mr. CryerWould my hon. Friend care to comment on the continued clamour of the Opposition during the road haulage dispute and the fact that no official spokesman of the Conservatives expressed regret at the death of a picket during the dispute at Aberdeen? Would he comment also on the fact that in recent times the railways have continued to provide a service in spite of adverse weather conditions, and that, yet again, the Opposition, after having made many carping criticisms—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. We are on road haulage, I think.
§ Mr. CryerI am just coming to a conclusion, Mr. Speaker. The Opposition have failed to mention that four railway men died trying to maintain those services. It should be recognised that they are working people who try to give a service to the public.
§ Mr. RodgersYes, there is from time to time a certain lack of generosity, but I understand that in trying circumstances people sometimes fail to say what otherwise they might say. I very much appreciate what my hon. Friend says about what we owe, particularly in weather of the kind that we have been experiencing, to all those who provide a service to us in the House of Commons of a kind that we never have to play any part in providing ourselves.
§ Mr. MartenTo what extent were the increased charges mentioned in the question, arising out of the increased wage rates, due to the EEC directive cutting down drivers' hours?
§ Mr. RodgersThe hon. Gentleman is ingenious, but I give a precise reply to a precise question. The answer is "Not at all".