I think in essence our complaint is the fact that our industry (like others) have been ‘dumbed down’ by various things (mainly technology), where the only real thing that matters, is that a warm bag of mainly water turns up!
The checklist is basically this:
- Is it here?
- Is it legal?
- Is it conscious?
- Can it accept basic instruction?
And we only have to get to the first point to see why agencies exist, as nothing after that first point conflicts with ‘dumbed down’! 
The bosses and accountants of these big operations I doubt have a second list of factors that ACTUALLY impacts the job, as their effects are so far removed from them, they can’t see they’ve actually got their heads wedge up their arses! 
I suspect it’s predominantly the smaller operations that have criteria like:
- Competent?
- Fire and Forget?
- Likelihood of damaging anything?
- Bridge Strike risk?
- Diligent and savvy enough to know how to represent the company?
- Can turn up presentable so doesn’t need or want a uniform forced on them?
- A bond or respect, trust and loyalty can be built up?
The only thing holding us off the bone of minimum wage is our licences and additional bollox qualifications like the CPC! 
But why should I be laughing at that? 
The alleged driver shortage is solely down to the industry being mainly controlled by the corporate world…
But as I alluded to before, it’s everywhere! We ‘subcontract’ so much crap now, you’re bound to end up with corporations specialising in sectors. G4 security seem to spring to mind!
And when I saw the news item below, I just had to think that the people doing a highly important job have had it ‘dumbed down’.
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38864009
Driver shortage is in it’s infancy.
Watch this space
commonrail:
Driver shortage is in it’s infancy.
Watch this space
I’d say it’s still in the sack 
I’ll throw this name in the hat now. I’m a bit surprised they haven’t cropped up yet. There’s not only agencies in the chain taking wedge out but this lot seem to be pulling many of the strings…
depoel.co.uk/agencies/
OVLOV JAY:
commonrail:
Driver shortage is in it’s infancy.
Watch this space
I’d say it’s still in the sack
The ■■■■ firms are already seeing the start of it.adverts on trailers.etc
I’m just about the youngest tramper,at our place.
Age 44.
The transport and distribution companies are just working for share holders now and to hell with everybody else . I am actually earning less than 20 years ago when we were paid time and a half after 8 3/4 hours , time and a half for Saturday , double time for Sundays and 20% for nights paid 6pm to 6am , Bank Holidays were double time plus a day in lieu .Drivers could easily earn £40k without being stupid . Now I get basic time straight through , nothing for weekends ( we work almost every weekend ) night rate is midnight to 4am and no extra B/H pay. I’m still working for that same company for fraction of the money I was on all those years ago . Is there any wonder drivers are leaving the industry . Take a look at the standard of driving its frightening , a monkey with a HGV would get a job at the moment . The FAT CATS have got richer at our expence .
Trucky Mc truckface:
Honestscott76:
Trucky Mc truckface:
The problem is no one wants to be a Truck Driver its simple. Gone are the old days of camaraderie etc. Its every man for himself now days. I have 5 vacancies for UK Tramping paying £31.5k Pa + Nights out and overtime Based in Suffolk and Immingham and the applications are almost at Zero. I have just taken one lad on x Army who has 2 years experience and he is Brilliant. That’s the other stumbling block also. 2 years experience. My insurers will not even offer the option of a increased Excess to take younger lads with little or no experience on either. Its a crazy world in the trucking Business at the moment.
Those ex-army guys are model employees. Trained with obedience and respect. Yes sir!
Strange you have 5 vacancies and paying “£31.5k pa + nights out” tho. I suspect you require the whole card filled and more?
Companies can’t keep ‘good drivers’ because their perception of such a driver differs so much.
I really hope you are not implying what i read your comment as. The answer is no. max hours possible yes. But bent running no. 2 infringements in a month without good reason dont slam the door on your way out. Oh and green light 0 on both counts also. not bad for 85 trucks eh.
“Max hours possible yes” confirms my suspicions. Although I recognise the rates are ‘nailed down’, so with 85 trucks to run you can’t survive without maximising the hours and keeping the wheels rolling. If I had 85 trucks I’d be recruiting at the local barracks, as army personnel make excellent drivers, they can’t say no.
TiredAndEmotional:
I’ll throw this name in the hat now. I’m a bit surprised they haven’t cropped up yet. There’s not only agencies in the chain taking wedge out but this lot seem to be pulling many of the strings…
depoel.co.uk/agencies/
This firm is instrumental in reducing the hourly rate of drivers as it kerbs companies from competing with each other and forces poor rates upon both the agency and drivers. I bet they are creaming an attractive price off the top.
Honestscott76:
TiredAndEmotional:
I’ll throw this name in the hat now. I’m a bit surprised they haven’t cropped up yet. There’s not only agencies in the chain taking wedge out but this lot seem to be pulling many of the strings…
depoel.co.uk/agencies/
This firm is instrumental in reducing the hourly rate of drivers as it kerbs companies from competing with each other and forces poor rates upon both the agency and drivers. I bet they are creaming an attractive price off the top.
From the DePoel link above:
" Every agency we work with signs a contract of supply at standard pay and charge rates. This means all our agencies are placed on a level playing field and therefore can compete on performance and quality of staff rather than price."
If you’re planning on joining an agency for work try asking if they are signed up with De Poel. If they say yes maybe reconsider your plans. How hard is that?
Franglais:
Honestscott76:
TiredAndEmotional:
I’ll throw this name in the hat now. I’m a bit surprised they haven’t cropped up yet. There’s not only agencies in the chain taking wedge out but this lot seem to be pulling many of the strings…
depoel.co.uk/agencies/
This firm is instrumental in reducing the hourly rate of drivers as it kerbs companies from competing with each other and forces poor rates upon both the agency and drivers. I bet they are creaming an attractive price off the top.
From the DePoel link above:
" Every agency we work with signs a contract of supply at standard pay and charge rates. This means all our agencies are placed on a level playing field and therefore can compete on performance and quality of staff rather than price."
The moral of it is, they want the best quality service for the lowest price. Not good for the poor fekers doing the work, when ‘DePoel’ are creaming a fortune. [emoji35]
When brexit finally kicks in and the eu calls it soldiers of currency back home we will see the true value of the trucker
Well can you add being treated like this to the list please Lucy,
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=144748
And did non of the bosses what to come on and chat?
What a surprise…
Erewash council advertising locally for dustbin lorry drivers.
Also suttons…on tankers.
It’s comin
Evil8Beezle:
Well can you add being treated like this to the list please Lucy,
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=144748
And did non of the bosses what to come on and chat?
What a surprise…
T&D has a monthly reader’s truck pics section, they should add a “Farcility of The Month” section too 
Lucy:
Thanks guys, keep it coming. 
To those who want to know if operators can answer their questions on the subject, actually that’s a bloody good point…Leave it with me for now…
Lucy,
Whatever became of this post pls? As of now not even one operator has stepped forward to put forward their case.
Not a single one.
Think they might know why they have been short of drivers all along, but just felt like having a moan in public for the sake of it. If they stopped making a rod for their own back with only wanting drivers who gained their experience at another operators expense, they might have a leg to stand on.
The silence is deafening Lucy, not one has put themselves forward for a few questions, not one, and they have had plenty of time since your initial post.
So from that, if they are so desperate to resolve their driver shortage issues, they would have been on here like bleating lambs asking why they are having trouble attracting drivers to fill their positions available.
But, even when this was offered… They didn’t.
There is no driver shortage.
Londontrucker123:
Lucy:
Thanks guys, keep it coming.
To those who want to know if operators can answer their questions on the subject, actually that’s a bloody good point…Leave it with me for now…
Lucy,
Whatever became of this post pls? As of now not even one operator has stepped forward to put forward their case.
Not a single one.
Think they might know why they have been short of drivers all along, but just felt like having a moan in public for the sake of it. If they stopped making a rod for their own back with only wanting drivers who gained their experience at another operators expense, they might have a leg to stand on.
The silence is deafening Lucy, not one has put themselves forward for a few questions, not one, and they have had plenty of time since your initial post.
So from that, if they are so desperate to resolve their driver shortage issues, they would have been on here like bleating lambs asking why they are having trouble attracting drivers to fill their positions available.
But, even when this was offered… They didn’t.
There is no driver shortage.
You are surprised? Lucy keeps asking here occasionally for content for the magazine (does anybody still buy it?) and then ■■■■■ off untill there is another brainwave run up the flagpole to multicolor the deliverables going forward for total driven solutions.
There is no driver shortage. Just crap pay and conditions.
There is no driver shortage. Just crap pay and conditions.
There is no driver shortage. Just crap pay and conditions.
Well there MUST be a shortage of drivers in the C2 jobs - because these jobs pay quite well in the £25k-£30k range - and yet no one wants them, even with the entry requirements becoming more lax by the day…
It seems that “easy hours, but lots of them” are more desired today than “regular hours (like 40-48) for better-than-par pay” but doing a job you don’t want to do where you’re rushed off your feet all day long. 
I wouldn’t want to work these jobs either - but then that’s because I don’t like day shifts full stop. I had no problems doing a C2 job on lates/nights in the 90’s at RM after all.
Where are the yards sporting the C2 overnight jobs? I see Dagenham Hovis advertising, but have yet to see any actual details for real (not contract or agency) full time jobs there.
I’m interested, as it’s one of the places I’ve been into on agency - and the pay was pretty darned good back then @ £16ph.
slowlane:
Evil8Beezle:
Well can you add being treated like this to the list please Lucy,
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=144748
And did non of the bosses what to come on and chat?
What a surprise…
T&D has a monthly reader’s truck pics section, they should add a “Farcility of The Month” section too
One of the bosses didn’t want a chat
None of the chatters wanted to be the boss.
No one on the chat wanted to take the job
The Boss wanted to chat with no one.
Le Chat est mort - Vive le Chat.
A boss talking to no one would cause some chat.
Londontrucker123:
Lucy:
Thanks guys, keep it coming.
To those who want to know if operators can answer their questions on the subject, actually that’s a bloody good point…Leave it with me for now…
Lucy,
Whatever became of this post pls? As of now not even one operator has stepped forward to put forward their case.
Not a single one.
Think they might know why they have been short of drivers all along, but just felt like having a moan in public for the sake of it. If they stopped making a rod for their own back with only wanting drivers who gained their experience at another operators expense, they might have a leg to stand on.
The silence is deafening Lucy, not one has put themselves forward for a few questions, not one, and they have had plenty of time since your initial post.
So from that, if they are so desperate to resolve their driver shortage issues, they would have been on here like bleating lambs asking why they are having trouble attracting drivers to fill their positions available.
But, even when this was offered… They didn’t.
There is no driver shortage.
Halfway down page four, I commented that I was waiting for the operators one, but then chipped in a few times on this thread anyway.
So yes, I don’t mind answering questions, though I doubt I’d say anything that I haven’t said before. And I think I more or less gave my opinion in that first post on page four.
I don’t know if I am the single one or if any other posters are operators as well.