morale at a low it is at my company not boc jobs a load off tosh tbh hard graft but pays 32k after tax
nick172sport:
morale at a low it is at my company not boc jobs a load off tosh tbh hard graft but pays 32k after tax
Any jobs going 
search air liquide and woodland logistics
Dont sound promising guys
Davidfbmw:
Dont sound promising guys
The problem these boc guys have got is they and there employer know full well they can get drivers to do the job for a much lower wage in this current climate being it agency or a subcontractor.
Suttons currently are moving lng (liquifiednaturalgas)around for boc a new business venture linde are involved in apparently boc guys would never had that contract for lng in house as they wouldn’t do the same amount of work or for the pay suttons are getting which to I know is a fairly good wage for what they do.
I agree with the boc drivers for fighting for what they got and there pensions and there terms and conditions but one particular depo the drivers are there own worse enemy
Greed has got the better of many of them particular example this was going back a few years the old boc guys where getting offered very handsome payouts and took them carnt fault them 
to then start back the following week as a full time agency resulting in one of the regular agency guys getting the boot this was very common and very unfair some of these guys where on agency for many years hoping for one day to be taken on the books
To be then told they had no job many where young guys with mortgages families and the old boc guys with a big payout and no mortgages kids all grown up where given there jobs stinks as far as I could see the management where fully aware what was going on,
As far as I’m concerned some get what’s coming to them it won’t be long before they will be all driving around in bright red trucks with a big N And D written on the doors good luck guys welcome to the real world enjoy the pain
Greed has got the better of many of them particular example this was going back a few years the old boc guys where getting offered very handsome payouts and took them carnt fault them
I wouldn’t say that was greed, it was simply a ridiculous scenario that BOC allowed to happen and the reason was all down to accounting and them trying to convince us we were losing work to justify the driver number reductions. The company called for redundancies when in fact there was no requirement for redundancies. They would simply divert work from one branch to another to get the reductions. However in true BOC style and their own short sightedness they would do this and then realise that with the fluctuating energy prices from branch to branch they had to move the work back, hence the requirement for agency to bolster up the numbers.
The opportunity for those guys who took the payouts to go back was there for the taking, why shouldn’t they take it? Because you think it was unfair. No, the reason was the company didn’t have to spend money training these guys up and were obviously happy to take them back on. Considering the damage we had caused by a lot of agency you could see their reasoning.
Regarding agency guys waiting to be taken on, the most junior driver at my old branch has now been there 14yrs so any agency driver would have a bloody long wait. Last driver taken on 14 years ago, why would any agency driver hang around hoping to be taken on when it’s quite apparent the company isn’t employing?
When I sat on the table opposite the senior management we actually got them to agree that this practice of re-employing drivers who had taken a severance package through an agency would cease. The reason being was that they were using the redundancies inappropriately. Redundancy should mean the job no longer exists.
To be then told they had no job many where young guys with mortgages families and the old boc guys with a big payout and no mortgages kids all grown up where given there jobs stinks as far as I could see the management where fully aware what was going on,<<
To be quite honest with you, I sympathise with any agency driver working for BOC but they really should have done their homework before going there. They will mess you about with one day this week, three days next week and even expect you to change from days to nights or vice versa midweek. If the agency blokes have a mortgage and families etc. don’t expect BOC to give a toss about you. Why should they? They couldn’t give a toss for their own employees. They operate a business their way and if you don’t like it pal, you know where the door is, is their attitude. Unfair to take back the old drivers who left? Not in their eyes, they knew what they were getting without training costs etc. and it was an opportunity for those guys that the company gave them.
In all fairness, I sense sour grapes in your post. Perhaps you tried to get in BOC and didn’t but that’s life.
For info, I took a big pay out as well but from the day I left I had no desire to go back even if the opportunity arose because of the way the job was going.
mikeshe:
Greed has got the better of many of them particular example this was going back a few years the old boc guys where getting offered very handsome payouts and took them carnt fault them
I wouldn’t say that was greed, it was simply a ridiculous scenario that BOC allowed to happen and the reason was all down to accounting and them trying to convince us we were losing work to justify the driver number reductions. The company called for redundancies when in fact there was no requirement for redundancies. They would simply divert work from one branch to another to get the reductions. However in true BOC style and their own short sightedness they would do this and then realise that with the fluctuating energy prices from branch to branch they had to move the work back, hence the requirement for agency to bolster up the numbers.
The opportunity for those guys who took the payouts to go back was there for the taking, why shouldn’t they take it? Because you think it was unfair. No, the reason was the company didn’t have to spend money training these guys up and were obviously happy to take them back on. Considering the damage we had caused by a lot of agency you could see their reasoning.
Regarding agency guys waiting to be taken on, the most junior driver at my old branch has now been there 14yrs so any agency driver would have a bloody long wait. Last driver taken on 14 years ago, why would any agency driver hang around hoping to be taken on when it’s quite apparent the company isn’t employing?
When I sat on the table opposite the senior management we actually got them to agree that this practice of re-employing drivers who had taken a severance package through an agency would cease. The reason being was that they were using the redundancies inappropriately. Redundancy should mean the job no longer exists.
To be then told they had no job many where young guys with mortgages families and the old boc guys with a big payout and no mortgages kids all grown up where given there jobs stinks as far as I could see the management where fully aware what was going on,<<
To be quite honest with you, I sympathise with any agency driver working for BOC but they really should have done their homework before going there. They will mess you about with one day this week, three days next week and even expect you to change from days to nights or vice versa midweek. If the agency blokes have a mortgage and families etc. don’t expect BOC to give a toss about you. Why should they? They couldn’t give a toss for their own employees. They operate a business their way and if you don’t like it pal, you know where the door is, is their attitude. Unfair to take back the old drivers who left? Not in their eyes, they knew what they were getting without training costs etc. and it was an opportunity for those guys that the company gave them.
In all fairness, I sense sour grapes in your post. Perhaps you tried to get in BOC and didn’t but that’s life.
For info, I took a big pay out as well but from the day I left I had no desire to go back even if the opportunity arose because of the way the job was going.
I think reading your response they dangled a carrot In Front of your face and you took it perhaps if you and your colleagues stuck together a bit more and not getting tempted by the carrot,and you be ok driver come back on the agency mate you may not have the influx of agency drivers that you got now or be ex boc employes like my post said they had good agency drivers trained in place with years of experience some did less damage than the regular boc guys I’m not sour mate I’m just passionate when people getting taking the ■■■■ out of that is all I’m in the same situation with my current job they are offering payouts and then arsking you to work with them as an agency driver instead we are all digging our heals in we will fight to the bitter end each to there own.
I think reading your response they dangled a carrot In Front of your face and you took it perhaps if you and your colleagues stuck together a bit more and not getting tempted by the carrot,and you be ok driver come back on the agency mate
So they dangled a carrot in front of my face and I took it■■? You know nothing about me to make such a crass statement. I left because of several reasons:
- I always said I’d get out of that work when I was about 55, I was 56.
- Read my previous posts and you’ll see how the job was changing and I had enough of the politics involved in the job.
- I was able to leave and not have a mortgage.
- Rather than just chuck my hand in I took the severance, why not? Don’t try and tell me for one minute that you wouldn’t have done the same in my position.
- You have no knowledge what my health was like at that time.
The average age of the drivers leaving was over 55 so don’t talk ■■■■■■■■ about sticking together. Us older drivers did stick together and worked bloody hard for the T&C’s we got and we had to fight to get them. What helped us make up our minds to go was the younger drivers who rather than stick to our agreements preferred to rip the arse out the job giving the company reasons to look at reducing our times. When it came to make decisions about industrial action those young guys were the ones with the twitching backsides who weren’t prepared to put up the fights we previously had so don’t start bemoaning the guys who said “Sod the lot” and got out. Those that chose to go back to BOC on the agency did so on less money but also had the freedom to tell BOC what days and shifts they would work which was never an option whilst employed direct. If it hurt you or your pals on the agency…tough. That’s life.
I previously stated that any drivers leaving under severance are now NOT re-employed in the business through agency, so your repetition on this point is mute. I’m not going to be drawn into any debate regarding the use of agency as you seem to know all about the goings on within BOC which I find strange considering you have no actual knowledge from working there. I seem to recall that in 2013 you were a tanker driver on LNG for Chive Fuels and had been for 8 years and you had gone for an interview at Air Products in Didcot who offered you the job but you declined. Without actually working within BOC I fail to see how you think you can keep harping on about BOC / Ex BOC and agency drivers unless you have been personally employed and involved as a driver within BOC.
We were in the top earnings bracket for tanker drivers and they still are to some extent but never be under the impression that sticking together will ever safeguard that to eternity. If you owned a company and you paid your blokes a high rate of pay and they were all at or approaching retirement age you would be offering them a severance package and inviting them back on the agency if it reduced your overall wage bill and if you can’t see that you need to get your head out the 70’s & 80’s and get up to present day. It’s human nature to look after yourself and your family first.
Oh and btw, I NEVER went back to BOC after my severance!
mikeshe:
I think reading your response they dangled a carrot In Front of your face and you took it perhaps if you and your colleagues stuck together a bit more and not getting tempted by the carrot,and you be ok driver come back on the agency mate
So they dangled a carrot in front of my face and I took it■■? You know nothing about me to make such a crass statement. I left because of several reasons:
- I always said I’d get out of that work when I was about 55, I was 56.
- Read my previous posts and you’ll see how the job was changing and I had enough of the politics involved in the job.
- I was able to leave and not have a mortgage.
- Rather than just chuck my hand in I took the severance, why not? Don’t try and tell me for one minute that you wouldn’t have done the same in my position.
- You have no knowledge what my health was like at that time.
The average age of the drivers leaving was over 55 so don’t talk ■■■■■■■■ about sticking together. Us older drivers did stick together and worked bloody hard for the T&C’s we got and we had to fight to get them. What helped us make up our minds to go was the younger drivers who rather than stick to our agreements preferred to rip the arse out the job giving the company reasons to look at reducing our times. When it came to make decisions about industrial action those young guys were the ones with the twitching backsides who weren’t prepared to put up the fights we previously had so don’t start bemoaning the guys who said “Sod the lot” and got out. Those that chose to go back to BOC on the agency did so on less money but also had the freedom to tell BOC what days and shifts they would work which was never an option whilst employed direct. If it hurt you or your pals on the agency…tough. That’s life.
I previously stated that any drivers leaving under severance are now NOT re-employed in the business through agency, so your repetition on this point is mute. I’m not going to be drawn into any debate regarding the use of agency as you seem to know all about the goings on within BOC which I find strange considering you have no actual knowledge from working there. I seem to recall that in 2013 you were a tanker driver on LNG for Chive Fuels and had been for 8 years and you had gone for an interview at Air Products in Didcot who offered you the job but you declined. Without actually working within BOC I fail to see how you think you can keep harping on about BOC / Ex BOC and agency drivers unless you have been personally employed and involved as a driver within BOC.
We were in the top earnings bracket for tanker drivers and they still are to some extent but never be under the impression that sticking together will ever safeguard that to eternity. If you owned a company and you paid your blokes a high rate of pay and they were all at or approaching retirement age you would be offering them a severance package and inviting them back on the agency if it reduced your overall wage bill and if you can’t see that you need to get your head out the 70’s & 80’s and get up to present day. It’s human nature to look after yourself and your family first.
Oh and btw, I NEVER went back to BOC after my severance!
Christ I touched a nerve there your right lets not get drawn into a rant you enjoy your retirement and good for you not going back my point was if your given a big payout from whatever company,job,and you can afford to retire or down scale to a lower payed job and youngsters behind you are starting out would it not be an option to move on this goes for any job it cost more to keep a guy on the dole who wants to work but carnt find work with a young family rather than someone with a pot of money mortgage free kids grown up yes the man has the same right to work even if he’s finaceably stable but why would he if the jobs gone that ■■■■ anyway let the youngsters who like you said ripped the arse out of the job get on with it I’m sorry if I may have caused you any personal offence like you say I know nothing about you and likewise you no nothing about me
Happy sole:
mikeshe:
I think reading your response they dangled a carrot In Front of your face and you took it perhaps if you and your colleagues stuck together a bit more and not getting tempted by the carrot,and you be ok driver come back on the agency mate
So they dangled a carrot in front of my face and I took it■■? You know nothing about me to make such a crass statement. I left because of several reasons:
- I always said I’d get out of that work when I was about 55, I was 56.
- Read my previous posts and you’ll see how the job was changing and I had enough of the politics involved in the job.
- I was able to leave and not have a mortgage.
- Rather than just chuck my hand in I took the severance, why not? Don’t try and tell me for one minute that you wouldn’t have done the same in my position.
- You have no knowledge what my health was like at that time.
The average age of the drivers leaving was over 55 so don’t talk ■■■■■■■■ about sticking together. Us older drivers did stick together and worked bloody hard for the T&C’s we got and we had to fight to get them. What helped us make up our minds to go was the younger drivers who rather than stick to our agreements preferred to rip the arse out the job giving the company reasons to look at reducing our times. When it came to make decisions about industrial action those young guys were the ones with the twitching backsides who weren’t prepared to put up the fights we previously had so don’t start bemoaning the guys who said “Sod the lot” and got out. Those that chose to go back to BOC on the agency did so on less money but also had the freedom to tell BOC what days and shifts they would work which was never an option whilst employed direct. If it hurt you or your pals on the agency…tough. That’s life.
I previously stated that any drivers leaving under severance are now NOT re-employed in the business through agency, so your repetition on this point is mute. I’m not going to be drawn into any debate regarding the use of agency as you seem to know all about the goings on within BOC which I find strange considering you have no actual knowledge from working there. I seem to recall that in 2013 you were a tanker driver on LNG for Chive Fuels and had been for 8 years and you had gone for an interview at Air Products in Didcot who offered you the job but you declined. Without actually working within BOC I fail to see how you think you can keep harping on about BOC / Ex BOC and agency drivers unless you have been personally employed and involved as a driver within BOC.
We were in the top earnings bracket for tanker drivers and they still are to some extent but never be under the impression that sticking together will ever safeguard that to eternity. If you owned a company and you paid your blokes a high rate of pay and they were all at or approaching retirement age you would be offering them a severance package and inviting them back on the agency if it reduced your overall wage bill and if you can’t see that you need to get your head out the 70’s & 80’s and get up to present day. It’s human nature to look after yourself and your family first.
Oh and btw, I NEVER went back to BOC after my severance!
Christ I touched a nerve there your right lets not get drawn into a rant
Nope you didn’t touch a nerve I was just expressing the situation as it happened in BOC and my own reasons for going which was never about me taking the dangling carrot and ever having any intentions or inclinations of going back. I’d been gone for over 2yrs when I was approached with the question, “If we need more agency drivers, would you be prepared to come back?” My response was, “Not a chance. I never took severance to come back, you’re a past chapter in a closed book.” I sat in a meeting with senior directors when these redundancies were announced and never even thought about putting in for it. After telling the wife she said I wasn’t happy there and told me to apply for my figures. We decided if they were above a certain amount I would consider going. We had young lads (well lads 20yrs younger than me) at our branch and the worrying thing was that if the company didn’t get the volunteers required those redundancies would become compulsory and on a criteria jointly agreed between the company and us (not last in, first out) they’d be the casualties.
I don’t totally disagree with your comments regarding ex drivers going back on the agency but when that was happening with the previous union side of the negotiating committee there was nothing we could do about it. Hence I said it was a ridiculous situation the company made available for those drivers who chose to go. The company wanted us all to go so they could bring in agency drivers, reduce their base driver number and payroll and have the ability to call on drivers depending on demand. They didn’t care who those agency drivers were except like I said previously, these blokes were fully trained. I for one didn’t agree with it, a lot of us didn’t. After all it goes against what redundancy really is. How can you make people redundant when the positions are still available. We changed that when we replaced the negotiating committee and it still applies now.
I did intend to retire completely when I left. I had loads of rebuilding work to do on the house… which is still on-going. However, after always wanting to retire at 55 I found I couldn’t hack it. I did two winter contracts with Calor then got a snippy little container job working late shift. Hours are less and the pay isn’t a lot less considering how much bullcrap we had to put up with on BOC, no managers on our backs (it’s like being a driver in the old days when you were just allowed to get on with your job!), oh and the trucks are 6 to 12 months old unlike our BOC branch which still run 04 plate DAF’s on private plates!!
I’m actually loving my job now along with a few ex BOC lads as there’s no worries, no meetings to keep attending, no bullcrap and above all a decent approachable boss with no inflated ego. He allows me to have extra holidays when I want as he accepts my (semi retired, for want of a better word) position. Obviously, if I exceed our holiday allowance then it’s without pay to be fair to everybody. Plus there’s good lads in the office and it’s great knowing that when the time comes and I’ve had enough or get peed off, I can just walk. I noted what you said the bosses are trying on at your place and you said you’re all digging your heels in. Fair do’s for that, nowt wrong with that at all. Just be very careful thinking you’re all united through to the end. In the present climate, despite this growth the Government bleats about, there may still be some weak links waiting for the right time to bail out. Like I said it’s human nature, we’ll look after ourselves and our familes before workmates. Good luck anyway and no offence taken.