AN OVERWORKED DRIVER

Waipa Post, Volume 48, Issue 3468, 19 May 1934, Page 12

AN OVERWORKED DRIVER

“A SCANDALOUS AFFAIR.”

INSTRUCTION TO POLICE ABOUT EMPLOYER. Though it is scarcely conceivable that such a happening could occur in New Zealand, there must be some employers who are so grasping or inconsiderate that they have occasioned circumstances remindful of the conditions detailed below. When Albert Chapman, of Castle Crisley, Burton-on-Trent (Staffs), was summoned at Willesden, N.W., for exceeding the speed limit with a motor-lorry, he pleaded that he was compelled to drvie to a schedule or lose his job, and he had now been discharged because of this case. He was sent, he said, from Burton to Margate and back—•4oo miles — and was given a specified time in which to do it. This necessitated his driving for 44 hours with only o hours’ rest, which included stops for petrol and meals. Actually, he was entitled to 2C hours’ rest during that time. Owing to the delay, his employer tcld him on his return that he would be dismissed, and reported to the Labour Exchange that he had been discharged for misconduct. When he (Chapman) was summoned before the Board of Referees, the employer was unable to substantiate his case, and the verdict was given in the employee’s favour. The chairman (Sir Charles Tinkham) said it was a scandalous state of things that a man should be compelled to drive these long hours without proper rest. He dismissed the summons and instructed the police to bring the matter to the notice of the proper authorities. Chapman was defended by Mr Powell, a solicitor, with the support of the Transport and General workers’ Union.