Is it me or do a lot of large companies, especially spanish, now seem not only to be employing eastern europeans but are now registering their trucks in BG, LT and SK. Over the past few weeks I have seen Sertrans to name one running all new marked up Mans on foreign plates dragging spanish trailers. Are these companies now setting up offices in these countries so as to pay less taxes, buy cheaper trucks and employ slave labour?
If that’s the case how long will it be before many others follow, causing eastern ■■■■■■■■■■ of the haulage business, forcing the rest in to bankruptcy, thus causing a monopoly?
Sertrans were running like this 4 years ago when i was going into their barcelona depot for gen haul to belgium
Sertrans have been doing it for years as have several other companies
i thought eastern ■■■■■■■■■■ was almost complete now
Yes Sertrans are doing that for long time - first they hire bulgarian drivers then buy slovakian regs plate trucks then now they got full bulgarian drivers and bulgarian trucks reg plates more cheaper than slovakian one
but not only spanish doing that, every europe countries are doing same thing!
looks at Harry Vos, Betz, Fercam, Dentressangle, Gartner KG, Hindelang, Wolter Koops and even Eastern European - Hungarian Waberers company use cheap labours from their neighbour - Romania! 
Most of the big Italian firms are running on SK plates and have been for a few years now.
This lads, is the future, best get used to it now.
skids:
Most of the big Italian firms are running on SK plates and have been for a few years now.
yes agree with you, look at Fercam, Arcese, Dissegna, Eurotrasporti, Alpetrans running on slovakian trucks & drivers - must be Italian & Slovakian have special deal something like that? 
best ask to homofaber?
Also Holland use Polish trucks lots - Wolter Koops & Harry Vos Logistics
It will not be long before trucking will have all the same Kudo’s as flipping burgers - & wages!
Surprise to see Stobart not gonna use Eastern European trucks or drivers for European work not like other big European companies?
What happens with Stobart Belgium? I have not seen Stobart truck with Belgian reg plate for while? Most of Stobart UK trucks go to Europe instead Belgian
we have lost two uk contracts to italian companies which run sk registered trucks with lithuanian drivers. took150 quid of my rate for the job, you just cant compete with that, i had to lay off three drivers…still its good to see europe being integrated// when are we in england going to realise that the top earners in europe will lose out to the lowest earners in europe, we really must sort this all out before there is nothing left…
richmond:
we have lost two uk contracts to italian companies which run sk registered trucks with lithuanian drivers. took150 quid of my rate for the job, you just cant compete with that, i had to lay off three drivers…still its good to see europe being integrated// when are we in england going to realise that the top earners in europe will lose out to the lowest earners in europe, we really must sort this all out before there is nothing left…
How though? It’s a sound idea, but the playing field is not level, everything in Western Europe is more expensive, in Britain especially, we cannot compete, they can take 150 quid off every rate and still make more profit than we could
The only way to stay in the game is by offering a much better service, or by finding a niche market, otherwise British involvement in International Transport will be a distant memory 
The only way to stay in the game is to join them, move east and lower you weekly wage by £300 per week.Fuel is the same price, trucks the same, just get cheaper staff and cheaper yards and maintance costs.Or pop up to immingham of a weekend, theres an army of them up there at the weekend waiting for trls to be shipped over to them, 3 uk loads and then ship out? i dont think so…lol 
It’s very sad. My experience lately is with Proctor and Gamble, probably one of the biggest exporters from the UK. All the transport is arranged by forwarders, mainly Schenkers, which as many of you will know is owned by the German railway company Deutsche Bahn. We never, ever, have a UK haulier loading for export. Spain, Portugal, Italy, Swiss it’s all done by east europeans, mainly Batim. I wonder if this is what we signed up to the EEC for ?.
the idea was that when these countries joined the EU their wage rates and living standards would rise to meet ours, instead our wages are dropping fast down to their level. if you don’t like the cut in wages then the bosses just get a driver who’ll work for much less.
I can’t believe this thread has lasted so long without the “leave them alone” brigade coming on and defending their right to work for such low pay and undercut us 
but its usually some driver who only ever does UK work and hasn’t yet had his job threatened by people willing to work for half the money.
luckily I have a spanish contract which means if my boss wants rid of me it will cost him a fair bit but there are plenty of bulgarians, romanians and now even ukranians (not even in the EU) willing to work for 1200euros a month and never go home 
its time to get out of haulage and find another job 
Betz:
Surprise to see Stobart not gonna use Eastern European trucks or drivers for European work not like other big European companies?What happens with Stobart Belgium? I have not seen Stobart truck with Belgian reg plate for while? Most of Stobart UK trucks go to Europe instead Belgian
All the Belgian plated motors went a few years ago betz. Lokeren have just made another three drivers redundant. There’s three left and two office staff now.
We have no employed eastern Europeans on international work, there have been a few lately through the agency though.
I’m still out every week but the contracts are getting less and less. (and to be brutally honest I don’t think I’d miss it if it finished now. The jobs a long way off what it used to be…
)
JB:
Betz:
Surprise to see Stobart not gonna use Eastern European trucks or drivers for European work not like other big European companies?What happens with Stobart Belgium? I have not seen Stobart truck with Belgian reg plate for while? Most of Stobart UK trucks go to Europe instead Belgian
All the Belgian plated motors went a few years ago betz. Lokeren have just made another three drivers redundant. There’s three left and two office staff now.
We have no employed eastern Europeans on international work, there have been a few lately through the agency though.
I’m still out every week but the contracts are getting less and less. (and to be brutally honest I don’t think I’d miss it if it finished now. The jobs a long way off what it used to be…
what happened to stobarts taking over all tesco fridge work out of spain?
The train from dagenham to Valencia is starting up again soon (it might be running already I’m not sure).
JB:
Betz:
Surprise to see Stobart not gonna use Eastern European trucks or drivers for European work not like other big European companies?What happens with Stobart Belgium? I have not seen Stobart truck with Belgian reg plate for while? Most of Stobart UK trucks go to Europe instead Belgian
All the Belgian plated motors went a few years ago betz. Lokeren have just made another three drivers redundant. There’s three left and two office staff now.
We have no employed eastern Europeans on international work, there have been a few lately through the agency though.
I’m still out every week but the contracts are getting less and less. (and to be brutally honest I don’t think I’d miss it if it finished now. The jobs a long way off what it used to be…
thanks for reply, well all down to EU!
neilsp252:
Is it me or do a lot of large companies, especially spanish, now seem not only to be employing eastern europeans but are now registering their trucks in BG, LT and SK. Over the past few weeks I have seen Sertrans to name one running all new marked up Mans on foreign plates dragging spanish trailers. Are these companies now setting up offices in these countries so as to pay less taxes, buy cheaper trucks and employ slave labour?
If that’s the case how long will it be before many others follow, causing eastern ■■■■■■■■■■ of the haulage business, forcing the rest in to bankruptcy, thus causing a monopoly?
Never understood how a truck that is manufactured in one country at a fixed building cost and then sold all over Europe at a certain price with variations to allow for local taxation costs becomes so cheap that a peasant from the likes of Latvia or the Ukraine and Romania can afford to buy the latest all singing bells and whistles top modal and putt it on the road. I would have thought the basic cost alone with no tax or delivery charges would be prohibitive when you haven’t a pot to ■■■■ in. I know the big Euro company’s can afford them but even the little people are buying what they call cheap trucks.