Drivers’ claim challenge

Press, 26 April 1978, Page 30

Drivers’ claim challenge

An assertion that the road transport industry had S6M it could use to pay increased wages to drivers was simply not true and was a case of botched mathematics, said Mr G. Musgrave, a council member of the Road Transport Association, in Wellington. He was replying to a comment by the Drivers’ Federation’s vice-president, Mr D. Soper, that drivers’ employers had S6M of heavy traffic rebates out of which they could readily meet the wages claim for drivers. Mr Musgrave said the money referred to was money not collected from truck firms to help ease liquidity problems caused by the pre-payment road-user charge introduced on April 1. By March next year 90 per cent of it would be back in Government hands in the form of income tax payments. “In any case, we are under no illusions that rebates given in that manner are included in the total amount levied on the industry for road-user charges,” Mr Musgrave said. “The employers’ offer to drivers at conciliation last week could amount to S9M a year, or $3OO per truck per year. “While the federation continues to reject this offer it is costing its estimated 30,000 member drivers $175,000 a week," he said.