I work for a large company through an agency and have been on the same contract for 4 years
But this year I have never known it so quiet, we have far too many drivers…mainly due to a new batch of polish drivers that filtered in during the summer
Net result when its quiet we only get 1 or 2 shifts a week
It probably boils down to wages we are very well paid weekday nights doing 12 hour trunks £16.50 an hour, and the trucks are under 3 years
So every body jumps on board when they can
The main companies looking for drivers are paying peanuts and driving old stuff, however a week on peanuts might be better than a day on steak !!!
Been looking around and most firms wanting drivers here are paying £10 an hour, seen them as low as £8.50
Then there are firms paying by the shift which really takes the biscuit, I know the Morgan Mac boys are charging around for up to 12 and 14 hours paid £100 a shift
I personnaly don’t think there is any driver shortage and firms just use this time of year to drop the deadwood and recruit better staff
It may also be down to the area and available work, like in the Lutterworth / Daventry area always seems plenty of well paid work
Wages in our work have always been area dependent to a certain extent, the golden triangle has become food and Chinese plastic and sweat shop clothing tat warehouse central of the country, hence why so many drivers needed, same applies wherever RDC’s and warehouses breed.
Course the areas are stuffed with eastern europeans (and who can blame them) otherwise it would be even better there.
At one time, before Thatcher started selling the country and her replacements in both parties continued, the West Mids were wage setters, especially on the unionised firms where T&G were a proper drivers union.
The problem with being in the thick of the work is that the roads are choked to death with lorries and cars, and every available patch of green is being built on so housing costs are high, and quality of life if you like space to breathe and hear yourself think won’t be what you want.
Or you do the other thing and live where there is peace and quiet but there isn’t so much work and wages arn’t so hot…recent immigration has upset that applecart for thousands of working class natives, and supply and demand has affected those areas as much as the golden triangles.
My suggestion for those who want to try the middle ground, is as always to specialise, the more complicated or mucky or physical the job gets the fewer who want or can do it, less competition of the chauffering only class, but its finding that niche they can’t robotise or dumb down too much that you can enjoy and do as you age, that’s the thing.
^^^^^ This makes sense. My own edge is that I go out of my way to get nights and weekend work, which many are not prepared to do, at least as a permanent fixture. I don’t even like “week about” on the early doors shifts, so perm nights suits me fine. I’ve had no problems in getting the higher hourly rates to go with it of course, so the world of sub-£10ph has never been for me. If all I was prepared to do though was “monday-friday night trunks” like they do at the freight courier firms - then there are plenty of people who are going to step on my feet, and get there first.
“Stupid O’clock starts” though? - I retain my speciality there, as no bugger seems to want them. I like this shift because I can spend the evenings at home with my family, come to work after my youngun’s put to bed, and be home in time for doing the school run in the morning. I did it a lot on agency where I work now, and I reckon that my willingness to do the awkward shifts combined with the fact I’d done over the previous 3 years all the artic runs out of the depot at some point - set me up to be offered the job I now have without having to scrimmage with the competition to get it.
