Scottish Hauliers all Set to Demonstrate Against Fuel Tax Increase

WEYBRIDGE, England, May 13, 2004 -- Fuel tax currently stands at a 13-year high and, if Chancellor Gordon Brown insists on adding an extra 1.92 pence per litre to duty levels on 1 September, many UK hauliers will, quite simply, come to the end of the road.

In order to highlight the crippling taxes being imposed on Britain's road freight industry, Road Haulage Association members in Scotland are organising a demonstration in Edinburgh on 15 June.

"The members within my region are suffering like never before," said RHA Scotland and Northern Ireland Director, Phil Flanders. "Operators are now working to the tightest possible margins; making even a small profit on a job will soon be a thing of the past.

"There are those in the enviable position of being able to negotiate a new rate for a job in order that some proportion of the increase may be passed on. However, there are just as many who cannot. I have even had calls from members who have been asked by their customers to reduce the rate! With foreign hauliers operating over here with tanks of cheap (and more polluting) diesel, what chance do our domestic hauliers have?"

In an effort to raise the profile of this crippling situation, the Road Haulage Association has launched a 'Sticker Campaign'. Truck and car windscreen stickers, proclaiming 'No Fuel Tax Increase' will be available from the Regional Office tel: +44 (0)131-472-4180.

The Road Haulage Association - supporting the industry on which the UK depends.

Contact Kate Gibbs, RHA Communications Manager on +44 (0)7979-531451; Phil Flanders Director Scotland & Northern Ireland on +44 (0)7801-500713 or Pat Glancey Regional Manager on +44 (0)7801-500714