My post is a Rant about poor rates I currently based in south east uk is it no wonder there is a shortage of drivers , taking into Account training costs then the problem with parking especially in
The south east and greater London , if I can give an Example ADT dump truck a new driver operating A 30 tonne ADT could get upto 18 an hour you don’t need a car license but would need a plant training certificate, once operater passes NVQ and goes to a blue CPCS cab expect upto £21 an hour On CIS through payroll company, only obstacles are seasonal work so by October November Earth works close down telehandler are on over £20 hour , small dumpers 6 tonne £16 hour with scope for mote once NVQ is Achieved and wagon drivers are on a lot less for a job that Carry’s lots more responsibility.
Raker:
My post is a Rant about poor rates I currently based in south east uk is it no wonder there is a shortage of drivers , taking into Account training costs then the problem with parking especially in
The south east and greater London , if I can give an Example ADT dump truck a new driver operating A 30 tonne ADT could get upto 18 an hour you don’t need a car license but would need a plant training certificate, once operater passes NVQ and goes to a blue CPCS cab expect upto £21 an hour On CIS through payroll company, only obstacles are seasonal work so by October November Earth works close down telehandler are on over £20 hour , small dumpers 6 tonne £16 hour with scope for mote once NVQ is Achieved and wagon drivers are on a lot less for a job that Carry’s lots more responsibility.
When guys come on here saying they intend to spend their x number of thousands on driving courses, I’ve always said they would be better off getting their tickets on machines, much more lucrative than driving a ■■■■ truck for a living…with I would guess a fraction of the b/s we have to put up with these days.
That’s my take on it anyway.
I think with those jobs ,I assume there wouldnt be much downtime,you probaly come in and start work,but with trucks,most jobs will have waiting times,so in my case,I work 60 hours a week,but if I hadto work 60 hours solid just with standard breaks,it would be too much for me.
Poor pay rates are most certainly a problem, but they only stay poor because people are willing to work for those rates. Do you see where I’m going here? You have the power.
I left my last job because the place down the road was offering more money for less work,but I dont understand why only a few of us took advantage.It seems a lot of drivers get stuck in a rut and dont want to change
Could be worse. You could do 7 years doing a medical degree and post grad medical training to be then employed as a Junior Doctor on £14/hr.
Instead you do just a one week course to learn to drive a lorry and be on the same or more money.
As for the construction industry jobs posted by Raker you can shove them up your arse. I’d rather cut my balls out with a rusty spoon than have to work on a crappy building site with some site foreman on a power trip watching my every move, up to my knees in mud and crap all day long on the same site trundling up and down the same few hundred yards of mud in a bone shaking bit of plant seeing the same boring view for your entire shift. I’m much happier driving around this country of ours in my nice warm, dry and clean wagon getting paid to listen to music I want to hear as I drive and watch Netflix a couple of hours a day waiting at changeovers.
Raker:
is it no wonder there is a shortage of drivers ,
Let me stop you right there. 
We’re not poorly paid as a whole, many of us have been on middle management salaries and above for most of our working lives, working how we wanted to, not many jobs you can say that about.
Machine operating is ok whilst the work is there, and whilst the weather is compliant, our job never stops and neither do the monthly bank transfers, which keep reliably arriving.
Our yard manager is in almost perpetual dispute with management about his pay, which has led to numerous stand-offs including him walking out on the job before being persuaded to return and he told me “All I have ever said is that I should be on the same salary as the Class 1 drivers”. And he works about 15-20% longer hours than we do.
I got my Kalmar and Hyster reach stacker tickets and you can earn good money with them, until the ships delayed, broke down, bad weather, diverted then your shifts disappear and you get the stood down call. If your lucky you get the basic, no shift bonus,no overtime, if your unlucky your on zero hours and get nothing, driving a truck (on specialised work) I have just sat 3 days in Scotland drove for a day and sat another two, times my own to go explore or maybe visit a pub or two, all on full day rate, I keep banging this drum but only a few older hands get it- the money in driving trucks as a truck driver is to get into a company where the trucks are not the money maker- own account work- earn your spurs on general haulage and get the experience then if you want to earn go specialised/own account. I concede with my job you have be be willing to be away from home multiple weeks - but in return I hit the 40% tax threshold in the first week of this year (offset it by a higher salary sacrifice pension payment each week). The £1000 per week jobs are out there just not running pallets from warehouse to warehouse for a haulier
Rikki-UK:
I got my Kalmar and Hyster reach stacker tickets and you can earn good money with them, until the ships delayed, broke down, bad weather, diverted then your shifts disappear and you get the stood down call. If your lucky you get the basic, no shift bonus,no overtime, if your unlucky your on zero hours and get nothing, driving a truck (on specialised work) I have just sat 3 days in Scotland drove for a day and sat another two, times my own to go explore or maybe visit a pub or two, all on full day rate, I keep banging this drum but only a few older hands get it- the money in driving trucks as a truck driver is to get into a company where the trucks are not the money maker- own account work- earn your spurs on general haulage and get the experience then if you want to earn go specialised/own account. I concede with my job you have be be willing to be away from home multiple weeks - but in return I hit the 40% tax threshold in the first week of this year (offset it by a higher salary sacrifice pension payment each week). The £1000 per week jobs are out there just not running pallets from warehouse to warehouse for a haulier
I disagree , I earnt £901 last week , 60 1/2 hrs running palls from depot to warehouses ,that days , the lads where I am on nights / tramping would be on over 1 k pw , and our pay I’d say is nothing special , average , the agency lads doing 5/6 , every hour god sends are well over 1 k pw ( I’ve seen it with my own eyes ) , I was always over 1k when on agency
We’ve suoermarket lads on here on 50 k
Driving hgv has got easier over the years with better trucks ie automatic systems sat nav etc ( i started in 1991 no sat nav no auto boxes no nightheater etc etc etc ) but what hasent changed is the fact you are driving upto 44 ton chunk of metal at 56 mph which if it goes wrong will ruin alot of peoples day its the acceptance that you have the RESPONSIBILITY of being in charge of the vehicle and having to Develop the experience/common sence to not drive like your in a video game because when it all goes wrong the first person the authorities will go for is the driver not the pointy shoes in the office
its having the confidence to say im not going to take that load/unit because is A.B.C. this is what lorry driving is about making it safe for yourself and other people around you
one of the biggest drawbacks in this industy is that its NOT considered a profession ( except when somone is trying to blame you for somthing )
ie you do not go to university and get a degree of some type
you are considered to be low skilled somewhat disposeable which is totally untrue
for the hours we work for the conditions we work in
for the patiance and consideration we have to show other road users
for the hoops we have to jump through even to get a licence
we as Drivers deserve to get paid very well indeed not just the pittance thats offered as a result of the continuous race to the bottom
thats just my tuppance worth everyone is entitled to their own veiw
Plant ops may be working close to home or get shunted off to another site miles away where they suddenly gain a long unpaid commute to work. Most are stopped breaks so May only get 9 hours money for being out for 12 hours.
That also may be true for some Hgv drivers.
My experience of operators is that you could be the best there is but if the hanger doesn’t like you then you will be offhired or replaced and sent elsewhere.
Here’s another take to counter the doom and gloom.
Too many drivers are responsible for their own experiences of rushing to the bottom because they go along with whatever is the latest wheeze from the office (an ever revolving door of middle managers), driver facing cameras just one of the current fashion fad too many drivers have accepted, it doesn’t have to be like that.
If you plough your own furrow, take a pride in your work, look after the kit the product and the customer are reliable and trustworthy and arn’t just there to milk every penny without giving value for money or take as many sickies as you can get away with, it won’t be long before something better comes your way, preferably own account or in a specialised sector which involves more than driving from one warehouse to another. In own account your arn’t just a lorry driver you become an integral part of customer service, the way you work changes because its now the customer and the product take priority.
When you prove yourself a good reliable employee the employer if he has an ounce of sense realises they’ve got someone worth keeping, or other drivers of a similar nature get to know you and as they (or you) move onto better jobs the nod gets passed on…good drivers in good jobs don’t give nudges to or recommend half wit incompetent types to join them on the better job they found, because to do so means the better job in due course won’t be when they’ve bolloxed that one up as well and will become just another underpriced contract from the likes of the green death.
Don’t underestimate networking in our industry, having been in two specialised sectors for most of my working life i’ve seen this many times, your reputation and previous work record can open doors or slam them in your face, canny bosses in these sectors ask trusted current employees if they know so and so, if the response is positive you’re in, if you leave a trail of destruction in your wake the boss won’t get the glowing report he wants the door stays shut.
I’ve seen 14 of the best drivers in one place move into another sector completely in less than a year, the former employer took staff for granted assuming as was their style that drivers were ten a penny (he actually used those words once, boy did he have to eat them a few years down the line), the TM at the new place sidled up to the by then 3 fairly new drivers who had shipped over and gave them his personal phone number with the message ‘anyone from your old place who you’d recommend wants a job they’re in’, none of us regretted jumping ship.
Doing the job well can not only be rewarding financially in secure employment, it’s also satisfying.
Have you seen the state of too many fleet trucks out there? filthy, damaged regularly, driven without any care, how much would you pay them?
The other sort who take a pride look after the customer and do the job right stick out like a sore thumb, i have come to the conclusion over the years that if you give value for the high pay and their investment in you bears fruit = happy boss. Happy boss doesn’t try to fix wot aint broke.
dozy:
I disagree , I earnt £901 last week , 60 1/2 hrs running palls from depot to warehouses ,that days , the lads where I am on nights / tramping would be on over 1 k pw , and our pay I’d say is nothing special , average , the agency lads doing 5/6 , every hour god sends are well over 1 k pw ( I’ve seen it with my own eyes ) , I was always over 1k when on agency
We’ve suoermarket lads on here on 50 k
Is that on top or take home? if there’s is lads/lasses taking home £900 a week on supermarket work then I stand corrected, but I have never met one yet
Harry Monk:
Our yard manager is in almost perpetual dispute with management about his pay, which has led to numerous stand-offs including him walking out on the job before being persuaded to return and he told me “All I have ever said is that I should be on the same salary as the Class 1 drivers”. And he works about 15-20% longer hours than we do.
It’s a common fallacy that managers are coining it.
In a previous life I was a depot manager for Nightfreight. Put simply, the extra hassles and extra responsibilities, allied to the ■■■■■■■■, backstabbing and general stirring endemic in any office-based environment convinced me after a few years that driving was less work for the same money.
dozy:
We’ve suoermarket lads on here on 50 k
More than that 
And for a lot less than 60hrs and no nights out…
Most of the larger construction projects that are on now the workers travel and get lodge which is tax free and up-to £43 a night , or put up in a hotel lots of plant ops have there own caravan or camper two 30 minute
Breaks each day the second is usually charged during summer months can work 11.5 hours a day , overtime after 39 hours and the. Again after 50 hours work is seasonal by autumn hours are cut way back
To 9 a day equals 45 Monday to Friday .
Raker:
I can give an Example ADT dump truck a new driver operating A 30 tonne ADT could get upto 18 an hour you don’t need a car license but would need a plant training certificate, once operater passes NVQ and goes to a blue CPCS cab expect upto £21 an hour On CIS through payroll company, only obstacles are seasonal work so by October November Earth works close down telehandler are on over £20 hour , small dumpers 6 tonne £16 hour with scope for mote once NVQ is Achieved and wagon drivers are on a lot less for a job that Carry’s lots more responsibility.
Without wishing to be blunt, surely the obvious answer here is to get the necessary ticket(s) and do one of the jobs you mention? Only you can change your own situation.
dozy:
…the agency lads doing 5/6 , every hour god sends are well over 1 k pw ( I’ve seen it with my own eyes )…
That is most likely because ‘every hour god sends’ in haulage equates to enough/more than enough work for two drivers, not one. Over a grand a week doesn’t sound so good then, and it certainly doesn’t if night out money is counted, controversial topics as that is.
The problem is you feel hard done by… E am happy in my job. Once I leave the yard on Monday morning I do my job and park up. The office don’t bother me. If you are not happy in whatever field you are in try something else. All those jobs you mention you may have the papers but are there local jobs. You also have to be a team player. I have worked in a coach company office where you get someone calling at midnight that they won’t come in for their shift. You end up doing a trip to London.