I think you’ll find that the folks on fuel rigs are very handsomely paid!
And I think you’ll find that the French lorry drivers are too! 
too many on here " I like the hours bollox! " you mean your pittance you’re pain an hour means doing double of an office bod who earns more than you! 40 hour week minus 2.5 hrs for lunch = 37.5 hrs at the office! 9 to 5 taking the p1$s! We’re not even third class citizens in this country 
we’re the ■■■■ on the shoe! 
ENDEX 
ROG:
middleman:
ROG:
15 hour shifts are not really the issue - the amount of rest between shifts is especially for those people than need 7 or 8 hours sleep in order to be fully ok to drive safelyThere is of course the max 3 reduced daily rests between weekly rests that will restrict the amount of 15 shifts unless split daily rests are being used
Any driver can refuse to take limited rest if they feel it will compromise safety but in these economic times bosses will just get rid of you and get another unemployed driver from the thousands that are on the dole
That’s the sort of anecdotal clap trap that makes no sense you show me someone that’s been sacked for not regularly doing 15 hour shifts and I wouldn’t have to try hard to find people that keep their job by saying no.
Which do you put first - safety or job ?
Same as most folk
Just don’t like the cut of your gib
Stop making the job sound like we are in the seventies we ain’t
Some people may be persuaded by your opinion bear that in mind
happysack:
Who brought in those great changes winseer? Was it the unions?
The firm brought it all in, with the unions taking it all with Vaseline, because the firm threw the magic sweeteners of “No compulsory redundancies, and a higher basic” in with it all.
The firm also offered the workforce £1500 to move from weekly to monthly pay. The Union objected, and so it was implemented anyway for sweet FA payment. Another case of foot in mouth disease. 
My highest ever year of pay in RM was the year 1999… Pay then rose below the rate of inflation until around 2002, when it started actually dropping in real terms due to fiscal drag combined with “mark time” overtime rates.
RM has now shed over 75% of it’s workforce since 2000. The firm got rid of all the jobs they could have dreamed of doing, with no resistance from the CWU because none of it was “compulsory”. In fact a lot more people wanted to be offered the VR package than actually got it… Mostly those with the optimum 24 years of service on perm nights for the last 5 years, which qualified them for the max payouts. Sackings for things like arguing with customers and poor sick record were rife (but not nicking stuff if you were an ethnic minority!), thus maximising the so-called “natural wastage” of even more jobs - without drawing on the firm’s MTSF cashpot to boot.
In my view, the Union should have blocked the implementation of “downstream access” where posties are forced to deliver RM COMPETITOR’S mail at a discount, thus improving profits of those outside firms, whilst losing work away from RM offices. Sheesh. Talk about “dig your own grave, and await quietly to be shot”!
Both Labour and Tory governments realised that they could not palm off RM for general privatisation because of the looted pension pot combined with “poor industrial relations”, the latter being a bit of a joke, because the Union have clearly had no real power for years. The looted pension pot arose from the firm declining to make their part of pension contributions for staff for 17 YEARS, but being top nobs, this of course isn’t classed as theft or crooked in any way. With no possibility of any government left or right being able to flog off RM without “paying” the buyer to take it off their hands, the whole plan was shelved. Forget any other reasons you might have heard in the Murdoch-managed press. According to them it’s all the posties fault (via their union) for “being greedy” (daring to be upset about racing to the bottom, being looted, and being on a pay freeze in real terms since 2002)
The public believe whatever the press tells them though, and it is perhaps this more than anything else that continues to push firms like RM further into decline.
How do you think Thatcher could win 3 elections on the spin despite being hated, having less than a majority of the popular vote, and plenty of enemies within her own party?
“Manage the press and rule the world.” She knew the power that could be shared if she could get the press help to break the unions.
Compare different newspapers views on Osbourne these days however, and it’s amazing that this idiot gets any support at all. Ask yourself why that is…
Even the BBC are openly hostile towards guys like Ed Balls. The way I see it is Osbourne has 3 more years experience of “being crap” than Ed Balls does, so one shouldn’t keep on comparing the two guys in some kind of “funny farm stakes”.
Notice the government and Murdoch have done a deal which suits them both, but acts against the public interest following the Leverson recommendations…
Should RM ultimately be shut down completely, the whole country will be the losers because we’ll all be attending depots on a regular basis to pick up our mail - or pay standing charges for having them store it for us!
The worst is yet to come, unless we, the public, change the face of British Politics forever, and get rid of the main parties at the next election. 
Sorry if I sound pedantic, but when I used to pull for Tesco on agency, they had a ceiling of 14.75 hours maximum, and that was five + years ago.
Socketset:
I think you’ll find that the folks on fuel rigs are very handsomely paid!
My point was this concept of everything evolves around drivers is crap, we play a important part in the economy, but so do others.
overworked/underpaid:
eddie snax:
Fileep:
I think you could have worded that question differently! I’m a tramper and the last thing I want while I’m away is more hours off. If I’m kipping in a tin can I want to be maxing my earning potential and there’s nothing more boring than sat in some service area for 12 hours! Now if you’d said for shift drivers then well said, they are the ones who suffer in my opinion from 15 hour shifts! I could happily do 15’s everyday while I’m away, but that’s just me others will be different.Totaly agree with you. no short break at base, fine, but I’m not cutting my throat.
I have read the petition, but I wont sign it.
I didnt realise that eating and washing are not part of my rest. frankly I find a decent shower followed a good plate of home cooked grub very relaxing, but now I know better
Then why sleep just eat, wash and go to work if thats all you need, how about family time etc, how many other industries do you know where employees sleep at work or are we the only mugs!, do transport managers, planners, office clerks sleep at work, the answer is no!, but we are treated like something on the bottom of their shoes !
Because sleep, like eating and washing is part of my rest time, the same as most other workers in any other industry. As I see it the only thing that a driver not sleeping in his cab, do different to a driver sleeping his cab is commuting, and that is where the issue about 15 hour days has an effect. It is up to the indivisual to dispose of his rest time how he wishes. I agree that reduced breaks/long days where someone is adding commuting on to the shift could be a problem, but as stated not only by me, trampers on the whole dont have this as an issue, and reduced breaks can be usefull to both driver and operator alike, it allows for increased flexibility in a whole manner of situations.
Family time is in my opinion, as much about what you do with it(qualitry) as to how much you get(quantity). I’ve been happily married for 17 years(I’m told) and have been tramping virtually all that time, and before.
As for being mugs to sleep in the truck, behave
transport managers, planners, office clerks sleep at work, the answer is no!
Because thats not what their job needs or requires them to do. or, do their job instead if thats what really bothers you. or just say no to long days, you wont get sacked. I used to get asked to work Sundays but I allways refused, so now I dont get asked, I usually work only every 3rd Saturday, but get asked virtually every week, but turn it down unless it suits me, I have not been sacked ever. And I make sure that they know that is they who should be gratefull that I work for them, not the other way round. 
Ok, we know how you trampers feel, and to be quite honest, i thank you guys , because if it was not for you i would have to sleep in my cab a lot more instead of my bed 
,So keep it up.
And this effects us shift workers more, Say no more.
Having read all the posts, why do you guys that moan about the hours bother getting up in the morning to go and do a job you obviously hate, I just don’t understand the logic to it. If I hated a job that much I would be out finding something I liked, even if it ment retraining at night classes ect. Oh but then you couldn’t possibly do that as it would interfere with your sleep time!!!
For god sake get in the real world, if you don’t like the heat get out of the kichen
Tin hat on now and taking cover 
Look if a driver doesn’t want to work 15 hours grow some ball and stand on your own feet I need 15 hour days to make money not just for me but for the company to as for wages if you think you can earn more else were your mad I did 10 years as a HGV mechanic on average 10 per hour limited to 45 hour weeks after tax not a lot left.
You must work for a large firm as if you worked for a small one you would know how tight the money is most exspence is fuel, driver, tyres and servicing.
Angus25:
Look if a driver doesn’t want to work 15 hours grow some ball and stand on your own feet I need 15 hour days to make money not just for me but for the company to as for wages if you think you can earn more else were your mad I did 10 years as a HGV mechanic on average 10 per hour limited to 45 hour weeks after tax not a lot left.
You must work for a large firm as if you worked for a small one you would know how tight the money is most exspence is fuel, driver, tyres and servicing.
Gosh you have got yourself in a right mess, take it easy mate 
Driving is a little out of the ordinary, as the working week for a lot of drivers is longer than the working week was a hundred years ago. Drivers work these hours because if they don’t, their wages often aren’t up to much.
I think drivers should be able to earn a reasonable living without having to put 60 hours + in. Sadly, many can’t and therein lies the issue.
I do think however, if office workers were expected to work the hours drivers are, and sleep in the office from time to time, there would be a fair bit said about it.
Maybe that’s because the office workers are less prepared to be shafted than drivers are. 
Oh and Angus - are you a reincarnation of a 19th century factory worker? Your work ethic does you proud, but you sound to be living to work, rather than the other way around. I guess as long as you’re happy…trouble is, the firm will expect all the other drivers to do the same…
The problem is we only have 3 trucks and just made it a year in business and have to put the hours in to keep the company going but I really enjoy the job good boss and trucks and good t and c’s but I’m lucky small family firm I’d hate a large company
Angus25:
The problem is we only have 3 trucks and just made it a year in business and have to put the hours in to keep the company going but I really enjoy the job good boss and trucks and good t and c’s but I’m lucky small family firm I’d hate a large company
A large company tell me about it , plans a 15 hour day ,crap wages,treats you like s*** 
Truckulent:
Driving is a little out of the ordinary, as the working week for a lot of drivers is longer than the working week was a hundred years ago. Drivers work these hours because if they don’t, their wages often aren’t up to much.I think drivers should be able to earn a reasonable living without having to put 60 hours + in. Sadly, many can’t and therein lies the issue.
I do think however, if office workers were expected to work the hours drivers are, and sleep in the office from time to time, there would be a fair bit said about it.
Maybe that’s because the office workers are less prepared to be shafted than drivers are.
Oh and Angus - are you a reincarnation of a 19th century factory worker? Your work ethic does you proud, but you sound to be living to work, rather than the other way around. I guess as long as you’re happy…trouble is, the firm will expect all the other drivers to do the same…
Bang on mate
overworked/underpaid:
Angus25:
The problem is we only have 3 trucks and just made it a year in business and have to put the hours in to keep the company going but I really enjoy the job good boss and trucks and good t and c’s but I’m lucky small family firm I’d hate a large companyA large company tell me about it , plans a 15 hour day ,crap wages,treats you like s***
If your job is that ■■■■ then leave. Quite simple. Pick up phone. “hello, its …here. I don’t like my job and will never be back. thank you, good bye”. Not hard is it? You ■■■■■■■ greeting faced prick.
happysack:
overworked/underpaid:
Angus25:
The problem is we only have 3 trucks and just made it a year in business and have to put the hours in to keep the company going but I really enjoy the job good boss and trucks and good t and c’s but I’m lucky small family firm I’d hate a large companyA large company tell me about it , plans a 15 hour day ,crap wages,treats you like s***
If your job is that [zb] then leave. Quite simple. Pick up phone. “hello, its …here. I don’t like my job and will never be back. thank you, good bye”. Not hard is it? You [zb] greeting faced prick.
Get a life, if i listened to idiots like you, i would starve are you gonna pay my bill etc no, so stick your advice up your chuff
overworked/underpaid:
happysack:
overworked/underpaid:
Angus25:
The problem is we only have 3 trucks and just made it a year in business and have to put the hours in to keep the company going but I really enjoy the job good boss and trucks and good t and c’s but I’m lucky small family firm I’d hate a large companyA large company tell me about it , plans a 15 hour day ,crap wages,treats you like s***
If your job is that [zb] then leave. Quite simple. Pick up phone. “hello, its …here. I don’t like my job and will never be back. thank you, good bye”. Not hard is it? You [zb] greeting faced prick.
Get a life, if i listened to idiots like you, i would starve are you gonna pay my bill etc no, so stick your advice up your chuff
you won’t starve. Go on benefits you whiney throbber.
happysack:
overworked/underpaid:
happysack:
overworked/underpaid:
Angus25:
The problem is we only have 3 trucks and just made it a year in business and have to put the hours in to keep the company going but I really enjoy the job good boss and trucks and good t and c’s but I’m lucky small family firm I’d hate a large companyA large company tell me about it , plans a 15 hour day ,crap wages,treats you like s***
If your job is that [zb] then leave. Quite simple. Pick up phone. “hello, its …here. I don’t like my job and will never be back. thank you, good bye”. Not hard is it? You [zb] greeting faced prick.
Get a life, if i listened to idiots like you, i would starve are you gonna pay my bill etc no, so stick your advice up your chuff
you won’t starve. Go on benefits you whiney throbber.
Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, we got an ■■■ wipe here, go stick your head up your chuff ,
I got to work now and go home not like you tramp, sleep sh*t and ■■■■ in your cabs, dirty Barsteward!
Your not making many friends…maybe if you want to petition the government about things, get a lot more people on your side first.