a long time ago, you could get a good rate in haulage, then tossers got into it, and subbed work at whatever rate they were told. they then blamed everyone else for what they had done to themselves.
you now have idiots getting into the agency game. an agency used to charge £20 to £25 per hour, and give the driver a decent cut of around £15. but now the new breed of idiots are undercutting one another, and charging themselves out at £8 per hour as a Ltd company.
Why do you do this to yourself and to your colleagues?
some of you make it cheaper to use a one man agency, than employ people on a long term contract.
don’t you have any pride in yourself?
Thanx
You just remembered me on somethings
limeyphil:
a long time ago, you could get a good rate in haulage, then tossers got into it, and subbed work at whatever rate they were told. they then blamed everyone else for what they had done to themselves.
you now have idiots getting into the agency game. an agency used to charge £20 to £25 per hour, and give the driver a decent cut of around £15. but now the new breed of idiots are undercutting one another, and charging themselves out at £8 per hour as a Ltd company.
Why do you do this to yourself and to your colleagues?
some of you make it cheaper to use a one man agency, than employ people on a long term contract.
don’t you have any pride in yourself?
+1
+2
Spot on Phil. Quite funny to see the looks on their faces when the come out with “I can’t belive how bad this job has got”
Part of the reason it got cheap is cos an idiot can do it now in most cases, at one time you had to be a truck driver to drive a truck and handle the various loads, now after 2 weeks at jack spots driving school they are fully qualified truckies, the new non transport managers seem to think so too.
All drivers bear some responsibility in this, they wanted the job ■■■■ easy whilst getting top dollar for it, so numpties saw that it was good wheeze and jumped on the bandwagon.
OVLOV JAY:
Spot on Phil. Quite funny to see the looks on their faces when the come out with “I can’t belive how bad this job has got”
+1
I cannot believe that a agency bod would do that, £8 ph, what a idiot 
Remind me to kick that idiot up his rear door with my pointy stilettos 
Anyone SE or Umbrella at £8h an hour is paying to go to work. 
I’ve said this before, but systemic fiddling of liability insurance (including laying it yourself) is a problem too. 
How else does one explain firms that treat staff, loads, & customers so badly that when someone complains its all about "Well, the insurance pays out, so we don’t care. We’ll employ Mohammed-come-lately on the forks. We’ll employ Ivanski come lately on his “grandfather rights” euro license. We’ll not employ the guy with 20 years spotless record experience 'cos he’s too expensive! 
It isn’t all because someone at the bottom “could do.” There’s a lot of blame to the industry too, ALL industry for getting into this malaise that says “It’s ok if the monkeys we pay peanuts to screw up - It’s all covered by INSURANCE!” 
Take away the insurance, and decent long serving drivers will have their decent pay & conditions back, due to what would now be a “proper” shortage, rather than some scam advert merely “saying” there is to get you on their books/on a course etc. 
PinkLadyTrucker:
OVLOV JAY:
Spot on Phil. Quite funny to see the looks on their faces when the come out with “I can’t belive how bad this job has got”+1
I cannot believe that a agency bod would do that, £8 ph, what a idiot
Remind me to kick that idiot up his rear door with my pointy stilettos
I hope they’re steel to cap driver
limeyphil:
a long time ago, you could get a good rate in haulage, then tossers got into it, and subbed work at whatever rate they were told. they then blamed everyone else for what they had done to themselves.
you now have idiots getting into the agency game. an agency used to charge £20 to £25 per hour, and give the driver a decent cut of around £15. but now the new breed of idiots are undercutting one another, and charging themselves out at £8 per hour as a Ltd company.
Why do you do this to yourself and to your colleagues?
some of you make it cheaper to use a one man agency, than employ people on a long term contract.
don’t you have any pride in yourself?
Couldn’t agree more - I only wish it was that simple.
Unfortunately, this is all about market forces, the same market forces that squeezed-out the corner shops, door-to-door milkmen, etc. ‘Cost before quality’ has become the buyers’ mantra.
Personally, I can live on £8 an hour, but I don’t want to and I value myself above that. However, earning £8 an hour is better than not working.
As John Ruskin said, “There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey”.
Alan
limeyphil:
a long time ago, you could get a good rate in haulage, then tossers got into it, and subbed work at whatever rate they were told. they then blamed everyone else for what they had done to themselves.
you now have idiots getting into the agency game. an agency used to charge £20 to £25 per hour, and give the driver a decent cut of around £15.
Where were these agencies? They certainly weren’t within 60 miles of me.
As for £8/hr, thats about the top end of what the agencies in Hull were paying even in the good times of the driver shortage in the last 10 years.
Maybe it’s got something to do with the choices in the real world of either sit at home and refuse to move unless someone is prepared to pay £15 per hour and park up the wagon and refuse to move unless someone is prepared to pay £2 per mile for subbed out traction work.Or just get on with the job for whatever you can get to at least get some money coming in.Probably beats the dole or having to compete for minimum wage with university graduates for a job in a warehouse or stacking the shelves at the supermarket. 
OVLOV JAY:
Spot on Phil. Quite funny to see the looks on their faces when the come out with “I can’t belive how bad this job has got”
I went into an agency the other day for a nose around, and was told I was arrogant for asking for a night trunk.
How I laughed at the looks on their faces as I walked out without another word. 
How come no one has mentioned that drivers should stick together etc
If everyone agreed not to take a rate less than £15 an hour then agencies would have to pay that rate, but no.
A permanent (i.e. not agency) employed (i.e. not self-employed/OD) job is the sensible option you can pick the job that pays what you are happy to work for and gives you securish regualar work 
I actually agree with you that a long time ago there were good rates for both hauliers and some drivers, times change, the law of supply and demand kicks in, throw in the EC free market and you get what we have now - an industry that is basically stuffed.
Regarding agencies I have done agency work on and off since 1975, but not for the last five years, and the only time I ever got £15 an hour was for Sundays when people actually used to pay decent shift premiums.
bubsy06:
A permanent (i.e. not agency) employed (i.e. not self-employed/OD) job is the sensible option you can pick the job that pays what you are happy to work for and gives you securish regualar work
Blimey so in the real world there’s actually an infinite choice of permanent,regular,secure,job opportunities out there paying whatever you’re happy with.
Carryfast:
bubsy06:
A permanent (i.e. not agency) employed (i.e. not self-employed/OD) job is the sensible option you can pick the job that pays what you are happy to work for and gives you securish regualar workBlimey so in the real world there’s actually an infinite choice of permanent,regular,secure,job opportunities out there paying whatever you’re happy with.
Read my post again numpty
Al lot of it is the agencies themselves priceing the job just the get the work and then expect se drivers to do 15 hrs for 100 quid or less I’ve even seen agencies paying 6.50 -7 pounds per hr wanting se or umberella drivers so again it agencies hamering the rates just to get work
Sent from my HD7 T9292 using Board Express
Is not just in the merry world of truckies. A local main franchise car showroom wanted a pool of drivers to drive to and from customers homes.You should be a member of IAM and very good driver blah blah. The jobs all went to out of work driving instructors ,rate £5.00 per hour.
bubsy06:
How come no one has mentioned that drivers should stick together etc
If everyone agreed not to take a rate less than £15 an hour then agencies would have to pay that rate, but no.
A permanent (i.e. not agency) employed (i.e. not self-employed/OD) job is the sensible option you can pick the job that pays what you are happy to work for and gives you securish regualar work
Chap, I agree with the sentiment but the way I see it those of us that are doing the more easier end of Haulage (including myself) are on £15 an hour… for driving and maybe an hours worth of daily checks, opening doors and curtains and fastening the occasional webbing strap.
Do any of us really think that we are being paid +/- £8 an hour to watch sky sports in a waiting room in Tescos? Or as we catch Zzz or read the internet as the Talibans finest handball a load of shoes out off the back of your container?
If anybody is seriously dischuffed about their wages I suggest not taking up a line of work in transport that the queue of trained monkeys stood behind you can do as well.
Or even, as a more extreme measure, make something of the place you do work so that your Gaffer offers you more cash or at least easier jobs that require a little trust (just read some of Coffeeholics posts).
Enjoy your chuntering folks, I’m off to stack shelves at ASDA…
W