what i don’t understand is, we follow the rules laid down by the european government otherwise we get jumped by our police but european drivers do as they see fit immune to prosecution.
I don’t want to work any harder but would like to be treated the same as johnny foreigner.
Mr B:
what i don’t understand is, we follow the rules laid down by the european government otherwise we get jumped by our police but european drivers do as they see fit immune to prosecution.
I don’t want to work any harder but would like to be treated the same as johnny foreigner.
May i suggest you take your truck over the water 
then you would be a foreigner 
So “suggest” is a banned word SUGGEST IS THE WORD I HAVE TYPED
The political environment and climate for such unions in the US is entirely different to that in the UK.
Quite ironic considering their two main parties are typically what we would call right of centre, and right wing, yet they wouldn’t dream of “Doing a Maggie” to the organised unions and lobby groups.
Same language, foreign culture. Don’t forget that 
if i took my truck into mainland europe and got stopped by the local police i’d be fined on the spot, if i didn’t have enough cash its ok they have credit card machines plus on my return i’d probably get my licence endorsed as well. Does that happen to lithuanian polish etc drivers?
Coffeeholic:
Urban Myth AlertWe should be more like the French.
(duly alerted. )
paul@midway:
beattun:
Mr B:
a union would be good for the haulage industry if everyone would stand together. Unfortunetly you could only set it up from a position of strength at the moment our industry is in such a weak position it would never work.not entirely true, if every truck was parked up for 24 hours, at the same time, the country would pretty much come to a standstill.
that said, some people just arent willing to give up wages, or fear for their job too much therefore we’ll ALWAYS have “scabs”.
just also want to point out I can understand why some people do scab, i wouldnt do it myself but i couldnt label them all bad people as you dont know everybodys circumstances.
Thats got swinging public opinion written all over it …Make them hate you even more …
i suspect it would get more public approval than hatred, might make the blighters realise how much they actually depend on us
Coffeeholic:
The vast majority of drivers I know, are happy in their job, earning decent enough money for little effort, doing a stress free job they enjoy and none of them are saying ‘things’ need to improve.
Oh dear Coffeee, I laughed so much at that one I fell off the chair and broke my leg, when the Polish paramedics arrived they couldnt stop laughing either and crashed the ambulance on the way to hospital, the Polish recovery driver also fell into hysterics and couldnt get the ambulance recovered. Meanwhile some English bloke pulled up in his lorry, surveyed the situation, didnt see the funny side of things and buggered off, as he pulled away he ran over my other leg sorry, but this is so funny why would anyone complain about the state of our brilliant haulage industry 
Tiger.
Fastrantiger,
Well actually I’m with Coffee on this one.
As things are right now this second, I have a career that allows me to pick and choose the days I work through the agency, it more than pays my bills, i can go on holiday a couple of times of year should I wish, I’ve got a good car, a speedboat for the summer and I live a pretty much stress free life.
Sure there are quiet weeks, but then I plan for those, thats one of the things you have to do as an agency driver.
But right now, I couldn’t actually think of many ways to improve the job, cut down RDC waiting times perhaps? increase the wage? but as I’ve just said, for the moment I don’t REALLY need that.
I’m happy as it is, so to me, no, it isn’t all down the drain, certainly not yet!
Alex
I think it’s all down to where you live Scarab, here in West Dorset there’s absolutely (zb] all in the way of ‘decent’ work, there’s not even an agency here. If I want to work I have to travel to Southampton, thats a round trip of 150 miles to work and back. Of the jobs that do come up, they are at minimum wage. Just up the road at Chard, the place has been taken over by Portugese working for peanuts, the locals are not happy about losing their jobs. In Yeovil and Weymouth east europeans have taken all the work at minimum wages. This includes the driving jobs. There’s not much I can do about it. Maybe where you live you dont have many immigrants, but its only a matter of time and you can say goodbye to those ‘decent’ jobs. Meanwhile, as the saying goes ‘Make hay while the sun shines’ 
Tiger.
You are right Fastrantiger, the Polish and Romanian population in the area is booming.
My mum is a teacher at a school in town and over 70% of their classes are non-english by birth.
It certainly isn’t 100% rosy here, BUT, unlike the industry where I came from (IT) at least we still have a chance to lead a comfortable life without having the risk of the boss suddenly sacking everyone because it can all be done overseas.
Sorry to hear its crap in your area, I think the only thing that keeps the industry going round where I live is the fact there is the port of Newhaven next door, and Portsmouth is only an hour or two away.
However, I am being very tempted to move “up north” recently, as a Yorkshire lad up until 10 years ago. I am getting a bit bored of my friends from up there telling me how they have just bought 5 bedroom detached houses for £200k and have good work prospects all along the M1 corridor.
Grass is always greener eh
Alex
Scarab:
However, I am being very tempted to move “up north” recently, as a Yorkshire lad up until 10 years ago. I am getting a bit bored of my friends from up there telling me how they have just bought 5 bedroom detached houses for £200k and have good work prospects all along the M1 corridor.Grass is always greener eh
Alex
Seems once you’re north of the M4 or live in the south east there’s more jobs and a better standard of living. I did think of moving up north once (north of the M4) but my visa had expired and I couldnt understand the language (now I have to learn Polish & Portugeuse 
)
Tiger
Hold on tiger…let me tell you a little story…many years a go i was very militant…thought i could change the world on my own…found out i couldnt, needed a bit of help…so after many arguments with various managers/bosses i ended up with a decent firm Beck & Pollitzer…anyway that never lasted too long cos they were bought out by TDG…but i stayed…and although we had to belong to a union, i wanted more, and i loved a good argument so i put my name forward as a deputy shop steward and got voted in. All democratic in those days, and i enjoyed it, trying to protect the rights of the workers, getting them a reasonable outcome to their case, and also threatening the management with strike action ( by vote ) of course. I was working with a great Shop Steward, and he was heavily into the union movement, visiting head office, taking courses etc, and time went by, i left the company, left the union over a dispute they wouldnt back and that was that. A few years went by, and we had a transport strike, and the firm i was working for asked me to go to a salt firm in staffordshire, to collect salt for old peoples homes (meals on wheels) and after getting some paperwork sorted out i went. I had to have a night out up there, and duly went to a pub as you do, and i kept staring at this guy at the bar, and noticing how he too had a london accent, and i couldnt place him, knew him from somewhere, but didnt know where. he too kept staring at me, and when i went to the bar for a top up, he asked me if we had met somewhere as my face was familiar, so as you do, said i will think about it and went to my table, ( he was in company) after 15/20 minutes he came over and said got it, me and you worked at B & P, i was the shop steward, and you was my deputy it then came to me, your name is chris we shook hands and he asked if he could sit for a while. We reminisced about the old days, and i asked what he was doing now, so he told me he actually worked for TGWU, and what a great job it was, he said that everything he wore was paid for by the union, every bit of food and drink that went inside him, was paid for by the union, had a lovely company car, stayed in the best hotels, and as he put it…all paid for by the MUGS
So i am very sorry to say, i will not be joining a union, i would consider starting one, and helping to run one, or organising one, but only if i was given a guarantee that 80% of drivers and hauliers would join it, and that aint gonna happen…
beattun:
that said, some people just arent willing to give up wages, or fear for their job too much therefore we’ll ALWAYS have “scabs”.just also want to point out I can understand why some people do scab, i wouldnt do it myself but i couldnt label them all bad people as you dont know everybodys circumstances.
Maybe they just wouldn’t have the same view as yourself and in a free democratic society they are actually allowed to.