Tories sticking for the british worker and Labour defending big businesses interests. Britain 21st century is a funny place to be.
osark:
Tories sticking for british workers and Labour defending big businesses. Britain 21st century is a funny place
Well I think the issue is every industry is trying to jump on the gravy train of free handouts from the government. Which was stupid of the government to do to begin with.
Labour are in favour of giving money to all these industries even if it negatively impacts drivers.
The Tories have given away so much money now and industries think they can just keep taking the ■■■■ by asking the government to help them out.
The reality is supermarkets hugely benefited from covid. More so than practically anyone else. Yet, here they are asking for government help while Sainsbury’s and Tesco drivers are going on strike over pay. You just cant make it up.
There are a lot of HGV drivers who have expired CPC or who just dont want to drive because the money is not enough to justify the long hours. As grumpy old trucker said in his thread. He earns £11 an hour stacking shelves.
Soon as the wages are at the market rate drivers will return.
This is an old article but worth a read.
The results are startling. There are 80,000 individuals with a Category C or C + E LGV licence and a current Driver CPC in the crucial 25-44 age group (the most attractive to employers for insurance and medical reasons) who are not currently working as truck drivers.
What’s more, there are 90,000 individuals in the 25-34 age band holding C or C + E licences, but without a current Driver CPC. All they would require would be a week in a classroom without any test or examination, and they too could get behind the wheel of a truck.
transportoperator.co.uk/2016/01/29/3568/
This figure has no doubt gone up. I am gonna guess and say it is close to 150k now. Just imagine how many 50-70 year olds who have the licence but dont use it 300k? At a guess. All the industry needs to do is to make truck driving worth while. That’s not going to happen if the average hourly rate is like £10-13 an hour.
adam277:
This is an old article but worth a read.The results are startling. There are 80,000 individuals with a Category C or C + E LGV licence and a current Driver CPC in the crucial 25-44 age group (the most attractive to employers for insurance and medical reasons) who are not currently working as truck drivers.
What’s more, there are 90,000 individuals in the 25-34 age band holding C or C + E licences, but without a current Driver CPC. All they would require would be a week in a classroom without any test or examination, and they too could get behind the wheel of a truck.
transportoperator.co.uk/2016/01/29/3568/
This figure has no doubt gone up. I am gonna guess and say it is close to 150k now. Just imagine how many 50-70 year olds who have the licence but dont use it 300k? At a guess. All the industry needs to do is to make truck driving worth while. That’s not going to happen if the average hourly rate is like £10-13 an hour.
I’m 57. I haven’t driven (for a living) for over 20 years. I still have my licence and am reasonably fit and able, I would just need to do 35 hours of DCPC, get a digicard and I could be back out there…
Would I go back? No, probably not…never say never but probably not. If I was desperate to earn, for whatever reason, and my hand was forced then yes I would but it would be a last resort. I kept my licence for that exact reason…
The job was spoilt, for me, a couple of years before I finished. Bare in mind I was 35 at the time and had been driving since 18 years of age (Original Young Drivers Scheme)and had been working with the same large group of guys for most of that time… All of a sudden there seemed to be lots of changes. A good number of older fella’s retired so there was quite an influx of newbies, who didn’t seem to integrate too well. Because the older guys retired, a lot of the fun went with them so the job became very dreary. Within a couple of years of retiring half of those retiree’s had died. Make of that what you will…
The company we were all hauling for really started tightening up on cost-cutting and rate-cutting and the first inklings of today’s micro-managing started to appear - I hated it then and I hate it now, with a passion. The final straw was me being extra-ordinarily lucky and missing a very bad accident by a matter of moments - that really made me wonder whether it was all worth it. Within a few months, I was gone. I had a complete change of career but missed driving immensely. A couple of months later, I promised to do a couple of weekends for my old employer and hated every minute. I haven’t done any commercial driving since. That was June 2000.
I’m not going to say too much about todays driving standards, you all know how shockingly bad it is. Suffice to say, whoever decided driving a full-loaded commercial on the brakes is a good idea is a complete and utter muppet and should be punched until your hand hurts, cable-tied to the front of a lorry and actually experience being driven on the brakes. The standard of driving test appears to be far worse than it was, despite the Theory test. Approaching and trying to negotiate any roundabout is a complete lottery - zero indication, zero lane discipline and zero awareness of surrounding vehicles. Utterly, utterly disgraceful…
To wrap this up, I will just say it’s not all about the money. I have never been a money-chaser. I want job satisfaction, good workmates, a small sense of being part of a team not a number, to be treated as a human being not a robot and to be spoken too like I matter. Civility, kindness and consideration cost nothing but mean so much, but that appears to be a sad indictment of our times and modern society now…
I repeat, it’s not all about the money, not for me. Above is a few of the important reasons for not coming back… I cannot see how that can be changed, not now, not for me, not ever
Piston broke:
adam277:
This is an old article but worth a read.The results are startling. There are 80,000 individuals with a Category C or C + E LGV licence and a current Driver CPC in the crucial 25-44 age group (the most attractive to employers for insurance and medical reasons) who are not currently working as truck drivers.
What’s more, there are 90,000 individuals in the 25-34 age band holding C or C + E licences, but without a current Driver CPC. All they would require would be a week in a classroom without any test or examination, and they too could get behind the wheel of a truck.
transportoperator.co.uk/2016/01/29/3568/
This figure has no doubt gone up. I am gonna guess and say it is close to 150k now. Just imagine how many 50-70 year olds who have the licence but dont use it 300k? At a guess. All the industry needs to do is to make truck driving worth while. That’s not going to happen if the average hourly rate is like £10-13 an hour.I’m 57. I haven’t driven (for a living) for over 20 years. I still have my licence and am reasonably fit and able, I would just need to do 35 hours of DCPC, get a digicard and I could be back out there…
Would I go back? No, probably not…never say never but probably not. If I was desperate to earn, for whatever reason, and my hand was forced then yes I would but it would be a last resort. I kept my licence for that exact reason…
The job was spoilt, for me, a couple of years before I finished. Bare in mind I was 35 at the time and had been driving since 18 years of age (Original Young Drivers Scheme)and had been working with the same large group of guys for most of that time… All of a sudden there seemed to be lots of changes. A good number of older fella’s retired so there was quite an influx of newbies, who didn’t seem to integrate too well. Because the older guys retired, a lot of the fun went with them so the job became very dreary. Within a couple of years of retiring half of those retiree’s had died. Make of that what you will…
The company we were all hauling for really started tightening up on cost-cutting and rate-cutting and the first inklings of today’s micro-managing started to appear - I hated it then and I hate it now, with a passion. The final straw was me being extra-ordinarily lucky and missing a very bad accident by a matter of moments - that really made me wonder whether it was all worth it. Within a few months, I was gone. I had a complete change of career but missed driving immensely. A couple of months later, I promised to do a couple of weekends for my old employer and hated every minute. I haven’t done any commercial driving since. That was June 2000.
I’m not going to say too much about todays driving standards, you all know how shockingly bad it is. Suffice to say, whoever decided driving a full-loaded commercial on the brakes is a good idea is a complete and utter muppet and should be punched until your hand hurts, cable-tied to the front of a lorry and actually experience being driven on the brakes. The standard of driving test appears to be far worse than it was, despite the Theory test. Approaching and trying to negotiate any roundabout is a complete lottery - zero indication, zero lane discipline and zero awareness of surrounding vehicles. Utterly, utterly disgraceful…
To wrap this up, I will just say it’s not all about the money. I have never been a money-chaser. I want job satisfaction, good workmates, a small sense of being part of a team not a number, to be treated as a human being not a robot and to be spoken too like I matter. Civility, kindness and consideration cost nothing but mean so much, but that appears to be a sad indictment of our times and modern society now…
I repeat, it’s not all about the money, not for me. Above is a few of the important reasons for not coming back… I cannot see how that can be changed, not now, not for me, not ever
In that nutshell is the nail hit firmly on the head.
DCPCFML:
I find it quite funny how all the remainers have suddenly gone quiet after spending the past 4+ years categorically telling us that the EEs have no effect, work for the same rates as the natives and well, you’re just a wayciss! I even remember one particularly vocal and deluded remainer telling us that the shortage was absolutely nothing to do with EEs going back home, only for the CEO of a well-known South Wales haulier to appear on the TV a few hours later saying that was exactly what the problem is for his company, thus implying that his business relied on cheap labour and would no longer be profitable having to pay the market rates that home-grown drivers seek.You’d think that the remainers - after being proved utterly wrong yet again - would be posting their messages of thanks to the brexiteers for giving them up to a 300% increase in pay, but all I hear are crickets. :shrug:
I note that another vocal remainer has flounced because of dissenting opinions and only now posts on his own website where all his followers must agree with him or have their posts deleted and be banned.
I’m a remainer, I haven’t complained about anything since brexit because I had a vote and lost……that’s life.
Brexit is one of many reasons for the current driver shortage and you know that so enough with the self satisfied horsesh*t.
Gavv8:
DCPCFML:
I find it quite funny how all the remainers have suddenly gone quiet after spending the past 4+ years categorically telling us that the EEs have no effect, work for the same rates as the natives and well, you’re just a wayciss! I even remember one particularly vocal and deluded remainer telling us that the shortage was absolutely nothing to do with EEs going back home, only for the CEO of a well-known South Wales haulier to appear on the TV a few hours later saying that was exactly what the problem is for his company, thus implying that his business relied on cheap labour and would no longer be profitable having to pay the market rates that home-grown drivers seek.You’d think that the remainers - after being proved utterly wrong yet again - would be posting their messages of thanks to the brexiteers for giving them up to a 300% increase in pay, but all I hear are crickets. :shrug:
I note that another vocal remainer has flounced because of dissenting opinions and only now posts on his own website where all his followers must agree with him or have their posts deleted and be banned.
I’m a remainer, I haven’t complained about anything since brexit because I had a vote and lost……that’s life.
Brexit is one of many reasons for the current driver shortage and you know that so enough with the self satisfied horsesh*t.
If Brexit is indeed a reason, why are the same issues being experienced in the major EU nations, the US, Australia, New Zealand and other western countries?
The reality is, Covid has highlighted the massive scale exploitation of workers, both domestic and foreign, within this industry. The foreign drivers have found the grass wasn’t greener, and upon returning home, have realised they can enjoy life close to their loved ones. The domestic drivers have realised their worth far surpasses what they have been led to believe for 20+ years.
Some still don’t get it. The owner of Heck Sausages sees thousands of terrified people fleeing the Taliban and his first thoughts are “now there’s a cheap supply of labour” while the usual suspects demand their once compliant Eastern European workforce, be dragged back over to save the day…
Except they don’t want to come back, because they don’t need to.
The solution is simple. Understand the worth of the driver.
I dont think brexit had anything to do with it - ir35 and covid changed things.