Good Evening.
Its clear that the issues in Calais are not about to go away anytime soon… and needs some action by
at the very least the UK European Transport industry to protect itself and its drivers from the DAILY issues
that revolve around the number of migrants attempting to make their way to the UK.
Clearly… no one appears to be interested in the plight of the British driver right now who has to suffer
and deal with the on a daily / weekly basis.
All the while Mr & Mrs average can go into the supermarkets and buy the goods they need…they basically
don’t care how it gets there.
NO DRIVER is paid enough to tolerate the problems and danger they encounter on a daily basis…and NO COMPANY make enough money that they can afford to ignore this any longer.
Do we need to rattle some cages here… and make some noise ■■
And while this is happening the big issue of the day for the various self appointed representatives of the transport industry is to ask the government for £150million to ease the driver shortage.
I despair!
But don’t get me started, I’m likely to blow a gasket if I get on to how to make transport a good career option let alone solving the immigrant issues drivers face daily.
Colin that’s how I feel… I was in Calais today to see it for myself… Yes in a truck and its worse
than even I imagined.
Last week I was in UK at a Business Seminar and DHL had a stand… They cannot get UK distribution
drivers for love nor money.
Its the Lack of Experienced Continental drivers that’s also a major issue… My old company are now
employing Foreign Nationals as well as there regular UK guys to drive. This is the thin end of the wedge.
I truly fear for the safety of the drivers using Calais at the moment… Its a serious issue that will
only become worse.
I know exactly what you mean Neville.
I don’t believe that I am in any way racist but we have to face some rather large home truths I am afraid.
I am beginning to feel the EU exists to produce cheap labour for big business. The man who wants to do a honest days work for his family is dumped on from a great height at every opportunity.
Maybe I need a holiday!!!
In answer to the original question, yes cages do need rattling.
Sensible ideas anyone?
It’s only a temporary flare up because of the building works.
To much panic about this subject.
Yesterday a group of about 20 of them where just walking on the hard shoulder on the A26 40 miles from calais.
Cops just past me 2 miles before that and just drove past them.
They just let them don’t do any about it looks like it.
@ eurotunnel it’s not so bad at the mo luckly.
dailymail.co.uk/news/article … -them.html
Personally, I think enough is enough. Forcible repatriation is the only thing that these individuals understand. If the French Police cannot or will not clear the camps and transport these people back to their claimed countries of origin then France should send in the Foreign Legion to do it. The Legion have always been Frances first port of call if there is any unpleasant work to be done. They will not muck around either. Round them up, a quick run down the Autoroute to Le Bourget, onto a military transport and away.
Another point, all these “refugees” and “asylum seekers” allegedly seeking refuge from various war zones or areas of conflict are ALL MEN of fighting age!! WTF are they doing leaving their women and children, their homes, towns and villages and running away and coming here? And it is only HERE, the UK, that they want to get to. 
Maybe that would be the compromise. Round them up, ship them off to an island in the Med, give them training in weapons handling and battle tactics then send them back to where ever the country / war zone is they claim to be escaping from so as to stand up and (zb)ing fight for themselves!! 
Yes we need to rattle cages about the problem in Calais in particular and the problem of illegal entrants to the EU in general.
Quite frankly the UK government don’t seem to care, I wrote a letter to the minister responsible for the Border Agency after I went through Calais docks on a Saturday morning without any checks from either the French or the Border Agency. After weeks of hearing nothing I finally got a standard reply from the Border Agency saying they were always carrying out security checks.
As for the French doing nothing, well they seem to have had a load of CRS based at the Ibis hotel near the tunnel for over a year, this must be costing them a lot of money for them to be simply doing nothing and also the illegals in Calais regularly complain about the treatment they get at the hands of the CRS.
Contrary to popular belief this isn’t a UK only problem, ask anybody who lives in any large European city and they’ll tell similar stories of illegal migrants, and last year Germany granted asylum to 3 times more people than the UK, and Sweden, France, Italy and Switzerland all took more asylum seekers than the UK.
But the EU can’t agree on what action should be taken, I believe Germany and France wanted a process to take place that repatriates economic migrants.
Once people who have spend money or their families money are returned to their countries more people in those countries will realise it isn’t worth paying the people smugglers.
The same should happen with those pick up in the Med, maybe pay for processing camps in countries like Morocco, to process the claimants before they reach Europe and can escape.
Neville 1:
Colin that’s how I feel… I was in Calais today to see it for myself… Yes in a truck and its worse
than even I imagined.
Last week I was in UK at a Business Seminar and DHL had a stand… They cannot get UK distribution
drivers for love nor money.
Its the Lack of Experienced Continental drivers that’s also a major issue… My old company are now
employing Foreign Nationals as well as there regular UK guys to drive. This is the thin end of the wedge.
I truly fear for the safety of the drivers using Calais at the moment… Its a serious issue that will
only become worse.
With the greatest of respect the reason your old company is employing a rag-tag bunch of sub contractors and foreign drivers is down to the lack of competitive rates the company are playing. I would suggest the lack of experienced drivers - especially in Kent - has nothing to do with that particular problem.
Clearly your well informed then… Or are you ? They only have two foreign drivers and that is only
in the last month…The balance of foreign / UK based Sub-Contractors has swung yes it is true…But
the UK ones are no longer there in any numbers… and many choose not to go over the water any longer.
Its an ever changing world we live in…!!
bullitt:
British trucker reveals drivers are being stabbed by migrants at Calais | Daily Mail Online
Personally, I think enough is enough. Forcible repatriation is the only thing that these individuals understand. If the French Police cannot or will not clear the camps and transport these people back to their claimed countries of origin then France should send in the Foreign Legion to do it. The Legion have always been Frances first port of call if there is any unpleasant work to be done. They will not muck around either. Round them up, a quick run down the Autoroute to Le Bourget, onto a military transport and away.
Another point, all these “refugees” and “asylum seekers” allegedly seeking refuge from various war zones or areas of conflict are ALL MEN of fighting age!! WTF are they doing leaving their women and children, their homes, towns and villages and running away and coming here? And it is only HERE, the UK, that they want to get to. Maybe that would be the compromise. Round them up, ship them off to an island in the Med, give them training in weapons handling and battle tactics then send them back to where ever the country / war zone is they claim to be escaping from so as to stand up and (zb)ing fight for themselves!!
And what if they won’t say their country of origin? Remember none of them have passports which would assist in getting the country right.
I think any UK company currently doing international work should be admired. Neville is spot on with the comment on the lack of UK companies venturing over the water now. I think you would be hard pressed to find any that don’t have foreign drivers or subbies. It’s the way of the world now, like it or not.
Going back to the problems in Calais, a large number of companies now advise no parking within 200k’s of Calais. The problem with that is the immigrants are looking to get aboard trucks destined for the UK even further afield than that now.
We all like to knock the French and Germans at times but their governments do take steps to try to protect their haulage industry, whereas here in the UK successive governments have shown a complete lack of interest or understanding.
We can talk to the cows come home on what we need to do but until we find a way to get the powers that be behind us it is only heading in one direction I’m afraid.
DadsRetired:
bullitt:
British trucker reveals drivers are being stabbed by migrants at Calais | Daily Mail Online
Personally, I think enough is enough. Forcible repatriation is the only thing that these individuals understand. If the French Police cannot or will not clear the camps and transport these people back to their claimed countries of origin then France should send in the Foreign Legion to do it. The Legion have always been Frances first port of call if there is any unpleasant work to be done. They will not muck around either. Round them up, a quick run down the Autoroute to Le Bourget, onto a military transport and away.
Another point, all these “refugees” and “asylum seekers” allegedly seeking refuge from various war zones or areas of conflict are ALL MEN of fighting age!! WTF are they doing leaving their women and children, their homes, towns and villages and running away and coming here? And it is only HERE, the UK, that they want to get to. Maybe that would be the compromise. Round them up, ship them off to an island in the Med, give them training in weapons handling and battle tactics then send them back to where ever the country / war zone is they claim to be escaping from so as to stand up and (zb)ing fight for themselves!!
And what if they won’t say their country of origin? Remember none of them have passports which would assist in getting the country right.
Yes they are known to destroy their ID docs once they know they are in the uk, but most will have a mobile phone, some have smart phones with GPS so they know where they are whilst inside the trailer, If their country of origin can’t be determined then either deport them back to france or country they came in from ,if known if not just deport them to where they think they are from or shoot the ■■■■■■■ /persecute them here they will want out soon enough
Neville 1:
Clearly your well informed then… Or are you ? They only have two foreign drivers and that is only
in the last month…The balance of foreign / UK based Sub-Contractors has swung yes it is true…But
the UK ones are no longer there in any numbers… and many choose not to go over the water any longer.
Its an ever changing world we live in…!!
Yes, agree it’s a changing world and when you can get a Bulgarian to deliver a load from A - B cheaper than a UK subby, any company would be silly not to take advantage.
However, blaming that situation on the lack of UK companies willing to do the work is somewhat insincere. Willing to do the work at those rates, yes, totally agree. There will always be a lack of willing participants.
That’s simply not true… Bulgarian or any other sub-contractor is paid the same rates as the UK guys
on Heritage… or always was up until I last worked there…and pretty sure they are now.
Yes…in an ideal world they would like all English Sub Contractors but they simply are not there
any longer… and when you have around 80 trailers to be pulled… you use who you can to get
the jobs covered and keep the customers happy.
And be assured… I am sincere about everything I do…Even now is semi retirement !!
Neville 1:
That’s simply not true… Bulgarian or any other sub-contractor is paid the same rates as the UK guys
on Heritage… or always was up until I last worked there…and pretty sure they are now.
Yes…in an ideal world they would like all English Sub Contractors but they simply are not there
any longer… and when you have around 80 trailers to be pulled… you use who you can to get
the jobs covered and keep the customers happy.
And be assured… I am sincere about everything I do…Even now is semi retirement !!
But the margins are less for the Bulgarian company 200 euro road tax per year base the lorry in the UK for the year no yard running costs not subject to UK employment laws doubt very much that Heritage’s foreign subby drivers are on the same pay scale as the English guys. Same with the Bulgarian firm pulling for Ocean Trailers using right and trucks be interesting to see how often they return to their country of origin.
I can tell you the two drivers they have on own units will be paid the same.
Sub Contractods run a tight ship hours wise.
All the regulations will be adhered to. That’s how Heritage and indeed Ocean
Trailers operate.