A plain white Renault
A brace of well-presented DAF CFs owned by Richard Healey Removals Ltd;.
Photographed at Truckfest Scotland.
Cheers , cattle wagon man.
Some good pics there chaps, its amazing how much the vehicles have changed and become more like a “truck” than the brick on wheels they used to be! 
Talking of how things have changed could I ask a question about wages? When I started removals in 1979 I was 17 years old. A porters wage then was £60 per week! I cant remember what the driver / foremen were on but Im guessing about £20 more. What sort of wage does a porter and a driver / foreman earn nowadays? I understand if it seems a bit of sensitive question, talking about how much people earn or get paid always is but Im just wondering about a ball park figure. I recall in the early 80`s (82-83-84)having to argue my case for a rise to £150 per week as a driver foreman …the fella who owned the company was having none of it! Tight (zb)
And night out money, I think when I started it was £8 per night UK, £10 in Europe then sometime in the Mid 80`s it went from £10 to £15 and then £20 that’s for Europe, Uk went from £8 to £10 to £12 I think. 
bullitt:
Some good pics there chaps, its amazing how much the vehicles have changed and become more like a “truck” than the brick on wheels they used to be!Talking of how things have changed could I ask a question about wages? When I started removals in 1979 I was 17 years old. A porters wage then was £60 per week! I cant remember what the driver / foremen were on but Im guessing about £20 more. What sort of wage does a porter and a driver / foreman earn nowadays? I understand if it seems a bit of sensitive question, talking about how much people earn or get paid always is but Im just wondering about a ball park figure. I recall in the early 80`s (82-83-84)having to argue my case for a rise to £150 per week as a driver foreman
And night out money, I think when I started it was £8 per night UK, £10 in Europe then sometime in the Mid 80`s it went from £10 to £15 and then £20 that’s for Europe, Uk went from £8 to £10 to £12 I think.
Hi Bullit,
I remember when the Lorry Driver’s strike happened, around about the time you are talking about, the demand from the unions was £60 for a 40 hour week for class 1 drivers, ad class three were a little less and our porters were paid less than class 3 drivers.
So it would appear your £60 per week was significantly higher than as being paid particularly up here in the North East, especially at 17 as under 21’s got a lower rate at that time. However our drivers and porters were paid time and half after 8 hours per day and Saturdays and Sundays were double time. Bank holidays were 10 hour’s basic rate and if you worked you were paid double time as well as the 10 hours basic wage.
On average our drivers wages on top before deductions of tax and NI were double basic wage (with overtime) so if £60 was your wage on top it would seem about right, however if your basic rate was £60 you had a very good job.
As far as I can understand, particularly in the removal trade, many drivers and porters are now on zero Hours contracts. This means they are only paid for the hours they work with no minimum hour guarantees. I suppose in the financial climate that today seems to have created that is inevitable, but in our day a driver or porter was guaranteed 40 hours’ work, and if we unfortunately had not got the work in we had to pay 40 hours out of our profits.
I think it’s a disgrace and a sad world that people find themselves in today, as if they have a job they should be able to expect that they have a wage of at least their basic wage at the end of the week, and if zero hours contracts are progress I am pleased I am not part of it.
Carl
Hi Bullit,
I remember when the Lorry Driver’s strike happened, around about the time you are talking about, the demand from the unions was £60 for a 40 hour week for class 1 drivers, ad class three were a little less and our porters were paid less than class 3 drivers.
So it would appear your £60 per week was significantly higher than as being paid particularly up here in the North East, especially at 17 as under 21’s got a lower rate at that time. However our drivers and porters were paid time and half after 8 hours per day and Saturdays and Sundays were double time. Bank holidays were 10 hour’s basic rate and if you worked you were paid double time as well as the 10 hours basic wage.
On average our drivers wages on top before deductions of tax and NI were double basic wage (with overtime) so if £60 was your wage on top it would seem about right, however if your basic rate was £60 you had a very good job.
As far as I can understand, particularly in the removal trade, many drivers and porters are now on zero Hours contracts. This means they are only paid for the hours they work with no minimum hour guarantees. I suppose in the financial climate that today seems to have created that is inevitable, but in our day a driver or porter was guaranteed 40 hours’ work, and if we unfortunately had not got the work in we had to pay 40 hours out of our profits.
I think it’s a disgrace and a sad world that people find themselves in today, as if they have a job they should be able to expect that they have a wage of at least their basic wage at the end of the week, and if zero hours contracts are progress I am pleased I am not part of it.
Carl
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Evening Carl. funny old thing wages,and how emotive the discussion about it becomes.
When I was driving back in the 60s, I was happy that my earnings, (for what I enjoyed more than leisure), was double what I had earned as a (painfully unsuccesful), watchmaker!
Later I learned a more responsible attitude towards remuneration…what the job is worth, and the worth of the person doing that job. When we had our Contract Hire businesses in the UK, I know that in all cases I paid above the normal market rate…but our people “gave” above the normal effort…(otherwise they did not stay)!! But they earned well, as part of a successfull team, and rightly shared the rewards of “our” success.
Now we have been farming for more than twenty years, and the farms make money in a difficult world. I know what my compatriots in this area pay, and quite honestly I think that it is an insult to the skill and effort of the people employed! we have a small team, and all of us pull together, my lads have (in the main), forgotten more about agriculture, than I will ever learn, so they are our success, and we pay accordingly. All are on a flat rate of £140 per day, irrespective of hours worked, which can fluctuate with the seasons,(and yes, we fill in the relevant EEC documentation regarding the WTD)! Then you can add a quarterly, and annual bonus payment based on the financial performance of the business.
Could we save money on wages…of course we could…but would we get the same level of commitment and expertise… and would the business be as viable… I doubt it. The success of a business is the team working within it…good people, paid well deliver results, (and those that do not deliver…get them out, and quickly)!!!
When I look at the Road Haulage Industry, the wages paid, the attitude towards its employees…it is a farce, a farce born of too many chasing too little,really an industry that has become far to "mature!..in other words Gentlemen, (and this gives me no pleasure whatsoever)…there are far too many involved, and there is far too little work for all of you…some must go for the “good” of the industry!!! But as ever, it will probably be the wrong ones who prosper!!
Cheerio for now.
A) Couldn’t agree with your sentiments more, Saviem.
B) Any chance of a part time job driving a Deere around in the sunshine for 140 quid a day? I never got paid anywhere near that much for a 15 hour day driving 44-tonners!
An old Edinburgh Street schene from the 1950s showing a John Duncan van travelling down the street. I would appreciate others views but I think it is a Ford Thames 4D. Certainy when I was young in those days I remember seeing a similar vehicle. Like us and most removal companies in those times we all seemed to have bought one, as they were the first light weight cheap diesels but very unreliable. What do you think it is?
A nice van from Specialised
David Dale Removals showed this very clean and tidy Renault at the Barnard Castle Truck Show , last weekend.
Cheers , cattle wagon man.
Alongside David Dales Removals` Renault , was this MAN drawbar combination.
Fitted with curtain side curtains , this outfit contrasts with the Renault.
Thanks to all other contributors on here . 
Cheers , cattle wagon man.
very nice .
cattle wagon man:
Alongside David Dales Removals` Renault , was this MAN drawbar combination.
Fitted with curtain side curtains , this outfit contrasts with the Renault.Thanks to all other contributors on here .
Cheers , cattle wagon man.
I always wonder how safe it is sending HHGs down to Spain in a curtainsider! Easier to backload but just doesnt seem right!
G B Lines going green?
Apparently it’s the latest fashion to promote your company as “green” even if it’s no more environmentaly friendly that everyone else’s.