Hiya …on my life this is true…in the early seventies there was this chap who was in and out of work like
none ever knew. we was in the pub one saturday he told us he had 5 differant company lorries on the pub
carpark and did’nt know whos to drive monday. 2 of the lorries belonged to a farther and son who operated
2 outfits out of the same farmyard doing the same contract. sand and gravel for trumix.
people say you could walk in and out of jobs he had 5 to go at and could’t choose.good old days.
I’ll not mention no names as most of you will know some of the operaters very well.
John
redbob:
Surely though, when there becomes a total lack of drivers then things must change!
I doubt it will hapen in our lifetime. That’s precisely why employers can offer low rates of pay and get all the drivers they need.
I gave up HGV driving for a living in 1978 because the pay was bad, I lived in London and the rates were poor because there were more drivers than jobs. The usual supply and demand rules applied.
No idea what you were doing wrong mate because according to many older drivers pay was apparently brilliant in the 70’s 80’s…
I was working for BRS (British Road Services) delivering chocolate for Cadburys.
‘Some’ ‘older’ drivers are actually younger than me and have also said that it was easy to just walk into a job in the 1980’s,during a ‘recesssion’,that made this one,so far,look like a boom which started in the late 1970’s.
That is true but it depended where you lived, I was near Surrey Docks but was not connected with the docks and therefore would have been well down the pecking order. Because of this I ceased to be an HGV driver and worked in other aspects of driving. Since then I have only done casual driving.
Surrey itself was even worse.
Although even tramping firms around the country with vacancies (if there they had any) were only interested in drivers who lived near where the firm was based let alone getting past the issues of age (under 25) and experience.
3300John:
Hiya …on my life this is true…in the early seventies there was this chap who was in and out of work like
none ever knew. we was in the pub one saturday he told us he had 5 differant company lorries on the pub
carpark and did’nt know whos to drive monday. 2 of the lorries belonged to a farther and son who operated
2 outfits out of the same farmyard doing the same contract. sand and gravel for trumix.
people say you could walk in and out of jobs he had 5 to go at and could’t choose.good old days.
I’ll not mention no names as most of you will know some of the operaters very well.
John
In general though it was a different world after the mid 1970’s than it had been during the early to mid 1970’s.
del949:
Aldi round by me offer £10 whilst training (12 weeks I think) then either £11 or £12.
Not sure if they actually offer any 40 hour contracts though.
There HAS to be something wrong when a shelf stacker, whose most risky job is running over their toes with a pallet truck, is on quite a lot more than a HGV driver with the responsibilty entailed in even the most mundane driving job.
Del I think it covers the same territory as the ‘issues’ which caused the Ford dispute in which factory workers wanted out to drive the trucks in competition with truck drivers.So you end up with the situation in which more people want to be drivers than to be factory workers or shelf stackers.Ironically in the Ford case it didn’t help the drivers’ situation that the driving side of the operation seems to have paid as much if not more than working in the factory did .
The fact is more people want to drive than to work ‘inside’.‘Inside’,in this case,being not much different to working in a prison workshop. In which case it’s not surprising that those working ‘inside’ need (and deserve) to be paid (a lot) better than drivers are.Ironically most drivers don’t seem to realise that the situation would decrease the supply of drivers by increasing the incentive for those who can handle a working life on ‘the inside’ just so long as the pay reflects it.While those that can’t will always be prepared to do the job on ‘the outside’ (driving) for whatever wage they can get.
You’re having a laugh aint you ? deserve to be paid more than a HGV Driver, fu-kk right off, as well as being a HGV Class 1 Driver, most of us have enough loading/unloading experience to embarrass those ‘inside’ .
Prison Workshop, WTF, watch what you say ma man.
Silly Boy.
Yes in the sense that working inside doing factory work or whatever (if you’re cut out to be a driver) is probably not much different to being stuck in a prison.
I would have been happy to earn less driving a truck than working all day in a factory or a warehouse.If you’d prefer to work in a factory and earn less,let alone more,than driving a truck,try it.There might be a few jobs going on a few car assembly lines considering the figures which seem to show that the car manufacturing export side is probably the only sector of the economy that is growing at the moment.Most drivers,if they’re really cut out to be drivers,wouldn’t last a week.
Prison is Not and I repeat Not “Probably” like working in a warehouse/factory believe me, and do not compare them again pal.
I have worked in all sorts of Industries and as a qualified tradesman, been on building sites and worked in warehouses, ambient chilled frozen ( ie inside)
I work for money, not to see the sights, I go on holiday to see the sights, I have had my class 1 for over 30 yrs and drive just now as it pays the bills and suits my lifestyle.
I adopt a professional attitude to whatever Job I am being paid for and that is why I am always in employment.
Shelf stacker’s should not be paid more than an HGV Class 1 Lorry Driver end of.
del949:
Aldi round by me offer £10 whilst training (12 weeks I think) then either £11 or £12.
Not sure if they actually offer any 40 hour contracts though.
There HAS to be something wrong when a shelf stacker, whose most risky job is running over their toes with a pallet truck, is on quite a lot more than a HGV driver with the responsibilty entailed in even the most mundane driving job.
Del I think it covers the same territory as the ‘issues’ which caused the Ford dispute in which factory workers wanted out to drive the trucks in competition with truck drivers.So you end up with the situation in which more people want to be drivers than to be factory workers or shelf stackers.Ironically in the Ford case it didn’t help the drivers’ situation that the driving side of the operation seems to have paid as much if not more than working in the factory did .
The fact is more people want to drive than to work ‘inside’.‘Inside’,in this case,being not much different to working in a prison workshop. In which case it’s not surprising that those working ‘inside’ need (and deserve) to be paid (a lot) better than drivers are.Ironically most drivers don’t seem to realise that the situation would decrease the supply of drivers by increasing the incentive for those who can handle a working life on ‘the inside’ just so long as the pay reflects it.While those that can’t will always be prepared to do the job on ‘the outside’ (driving) for whatever wage they can get.
You’re having a laugh aint you ? deserve to be paid more than a HGV Driver, fu-kk right off, as well as being a HGV Class 1 Driver, most of us have enough loading/unloading experience to embarrass those ‘inside’ .
Prison Workshop, WTF, watch what you say ma man.
Silly Boy.
Yes in the sense that working inside doing factory work or whatever (if you’re cut out to be a driver) is probably not much different to being stuck in a prison.
I would have been happy to earn less driving a truck than working all day in a factory or a warehouse.If you’d prefer to work in a factory and earn less,let alone more,than driving a truck,try it.There might be a few jobs going on a few car assembly lines considering the figures which seem to show that the car manufacturing export side is probably the only sector of the economy that is growing at the moment.Most drivers,if they’re really cut out to be drivers,wouldn’t last a week.
Prison is Not and I repeat Not “Probably” like working in a warehouse/factory believe me, and do not compare them again pal.
I have worked in all sorts of Industries and as a qualified tradesman, been on building sites and worked in warehouses, ambient chilled frozen ( ie inside)
I work for money, not to see the sights, I go on holiday to see the sights, I have had my class 1 for over 30 yrs and drive just now as it pays the bills and suits my lifestyle.
I adopt a professional attitude to whatever Job I am being paid for and that is why I am always in employment.
Shelf stacker’s should not be paid more than an HGV Class 1 Lorry Driver end of.
In which case you’re not going to mind then when someone like me takes the opposite view to your own and would be prepared to do the job of class 1 driver for less than I’d get working ‘inside’ as a ‘shelf stacker’ or whatever having found a few years working in a factory more than enough.
del949:
It still doesn’t explain why shelf stackers are worth more.
With over 2 million unemployed you would expect that totally unskilled jobs such as those would all be on minmum wage.
But all the major supermarkets appear to be paying over the odds, certainly Tesco pay above NMW.
I can’t even claim that it is because the unions have negotiated good deals because as far as I know Aldi have nothing to do with unions.
So, regardless of all the answers you give , i am still at a loss to explain Aldi = £10+ per hour and some driving jobs = £7.
If Aldi had there own drivers I wonder what rate they wouldbe on?
Turkey in the EEC? I seriously doubt it in the near or even not so near future. The last thing the EU needs is another basket case.
They are desperate to get in and the powers that be are equally keen to see them join. It’s only a question of when, not if, unless people start to use their democratic vote to torpedo that idea!
del949:
It still doesn’t explain why shelf stackers are worth more.
With over 2 million unemployed you would expect that totally unskilled jobs such as those would all be on minmum wage.
But all the major supermarkets appear to be paying over the odds, certainly Tesco pay above NMW.
I can’t even claim that it is because the unions have negotiated good deals because as far as I know Aldi have nothing to do with unions.
So, regardless of all the answers you give , i am still at a loss to explain Aldi = £10+ per hour and some driving jobs = £7.
If Aldi had there own drivers I wonder what rate they wouldbe on?
Turkey in the EEC? I seriously doubt it in the near or even not so near future. The last thing the EU needs is another basket case.
They are desperate to get in and the powers that be are equally keen to see them join. It’s only a question of when, not if, unless people start to use their democratic vote to torpedo that idea!
Could it be that people are not prepared to get out of bed/up off the sofa to go and stack shelves for the min. wage?
Whereas “drivers” i.e. those who like to get out and about with a constantly changing view from the office window, are prepared to work for min. wage?
Ten years ago, agency work, especially in London, was indeed well paid, especially at w/ends & holidays.
The influx of East European drivers put an end to that. As has been said, supply & demand. Then the recession came along, not as much freight to be moved, many people with HGV licences made redundant from other jobs, all of a sudden there are far more drivers than jobs. Companies know that, they are in business to make a profit. Why pay a driver £11 an hour if you can get them for £7.50?
Yes Turkey wants into the EU, but they will never be allowed in unless and until a resolution is reached to the Cyprus problem. Turkey is very keen to resolve -but firmly intends staying put. The Greeks opinion to that ends in offski.
Unfortunately the Greeks seem to have conveniently forgotten that further back in history they nicked the island off the Turks in the first place.
I have worked stacking shelves in the past, but I have also worked in call centres and offices but much prefer being out driving. Ok, bus work as a bit restrictive but it was still driving.
Now I’ve got my C & CE I hope to be doing more driving and the like but I still think it’s better than working indoors.
The call centre work I did wasn’t outbound before you start berating me over it. Inbound only, BT192 then a customer services department (refunds) for another major company. Also there I excelled at getting it right but the job was undercut by other employees there who wanted to get as much work done and show the numbers up, even if it meant repeated work because they had made so many mistakes. And yes, having a refund check sent out to ‘Mr Smith (Deceased)’ in the ‘pay to’ box was a mistake, the same as sending out 10p refunds.
Most lines of work have positives and negatives, and a lot of people out there want to work their 8 hours a day, then go home and not have do any more or perhaps spend an evening in the pub and not bother if they goto work the next day still over the drink drive limit, or care what they are doing and just ‘doing something’ until they get home to do what they want.
Swings and roundabouts. I’m young enough still that I want to live a little, and if the option comes up for tramping I’ll probably do that too
OVLOV JAY:
There was a bloke on the door at leyton tesco called Roy, he got his class 1 and knocked back a job on the agency driving for tesco. He said to me “why do I want to drive it for less than I get to unload it”
See my post… snap!
Is that the one on Leyton High Rd that needed a short trailer or the one near Whipps Cross The story sounds familiar
I’ve tried coming off the road a few times, but come back to driving every time, it’s like a bloody disease, had some pretty decent jobs too, mostly transport related, but the lure of the open road is too much for me. I now remind myself of that when I get ■■■■■■ off with being away or whatever else gets up my nose about the job.
It took a long time to sink in, but money ain’t everything, chasing a pound note only leads to one thing…disappointment, because no matter how many you get, you always want more As long as I can pay the bills and have a comfortable life, everyone at home is happy, if I’m doing it in a lorry, then I’m happy
Yeah, that makes sense, as soon as I read your post it jogged a memory, can’t remember the bloke, but remember having a similar conversation somewhere when I worked out of Welham and 2 plus 2 is 4, so chances are it’s the same bloke
Equally, going by your argument…people may go to work as shelf stackers because they like supermarkets, regular hours, clean working conditions.
Maybe some of them are just as supportive of their chosen path through life as truckers are.
(and maybe some of them have a quiet snigger at truck drivers delivering to them on less money )
Equally, going by your argument…people may go to work as shelf stackers because they like supermarkets, regular hours, clean working conditions.
Maybe some of them are just as supportive of their chosen path through life as truckers are.
(and maybe some of them have a quiet snigger at truck drivers delivering to them on less money )
Or maybe it’s just that they haven’t got a big union behind them backing an industrial dispute in which more workers want to drive the trucks than to work inside as happened in that Ford dispute.
Equally, going by your argument…people may go to work as shelf stackers because they like supermarkets, regular hours, clean working conditions.
Maybe some of them are just as supportive of their chosen path through life as truckers are.
(and maybe some of them have a quiet snigger at truck drivers delivering to them on less money )
Another way to look at it: how many shelf stackers would pay 2k for a licence to stack shelves?
del949:
It still doesn’t explain why shelf stackers are worth more.
With over 2 million unemployed you would expect that totally unskilled jobs such as those would all be on minmum wage.
But all the major supermarkets appear to be paying over the odds, certainly Tesco pay above NMW.
I can’t even claim that it is because the unions have negotiated good deals because as far as I know Aldi have nothing to do with unions.
So, regardless of all the answers you give , i am still at a loss to explain Aldi = £10+ per hour and some driving jobs = £7.
If Aldi had there own drivers I wonder what rate they wouldbe on?
Turkey in the EEC? I seriously doubt it in the near or even not so near future.
The last thing the EU needs is another basket case.
It seems simple enough to me.If it was a case of being at the job centre subject to JSA regs and given two job choices to go for by the ‘advisor’ one driving the truck for £7 per hour or one working in the warehouse for £10 per hour I’m taking the driving job thanks and you can take the warehouse job.
As I said I think in this discussion can be found all of those issues related to that Ford factory workers v drivers dispute for driving jobs vacancies.By paying drivers more you’d just make those issues worse which I ‘think’ might have been the root cause in that case .I think it was a case of line factory workers getting paid ‘less’ than the class 1 drivers were so no surprise that the whole thing ended up in a dispute about who wanted to do what and who got the driving jobs as vacancies came up.
There’s your answer del949, choice. Some people choose to accept low wages to do job they enjoy, and as long as they will accept a low rate then everyone else will be stuck with it too… or choose to walk away.
My last UK driving job was on nights driving double deckers, I left to take a campsite job in France, which paid more, and was miles healthier. I then got offered a job in Canada which pays more than the UK agency work, so here I am, for now.
. 
)