kjw21:
Didn’t The Sun used to (maybe still does) run adverts for well known training brokers constantly?
I’m sure there is absolutely no link between high paying advertising client and a story that encourages people to take up the adverts exaggerated claims.
Sort of like when the supermarket who advertises with the paper constantly always seems to win the “best mince pies” review.
These stories are known as “advertorials” but you are absolutely right, the Sun will run an item about an imaginary HGV driver shortage as a sop to a big-spending advertiser who has an interest in training or recruiting HGV drivers.
Richard8:
I have not driven in four years but I often get the urge to do the odd shift as I now work a 37.5 hour working week it feels strange (but good) to have my weekends free, there’s something about driving that’s in my blood from going out with my dad as a young boy but i bet that being stuck in an RDC for 4 or more hours would cure my hankering.
You are bang on with that comment Richard. I am also a lorry drivers son and I was just about to pack in lorry driving after only 3.5 years
General haulage/RDC’s had just about finished me off, but I managed to get a start on a really good job and now I almost enjoy driving the wagon
I can relate to that too Richard… I’ve 20+ years experience on all types of haulage, but I left it all about 7 years ago to
take a van driving job…though I only took the job as a stop gap, but I’ve obviously got too comfortable van driving as I’m still there! Lol
So after 7 years off heavies, I’ve recently done a shift at Waitrose and just completed my first shift today at Royal Mail, where
I last drove about 12 years ago!
My van driving job is easy with no tacho or drivers hours to worry about, but the wages are crap, so I just top up my wages with
a couple of days agency driving every month, tbh I’m fed up with all the rules and regs within the industry, so I don’t think I’ll bother coming
back to full time HGV driving unless a really great opportunity presents itself!
That’s interesting… I usually find van wages to be better than HGV /shrug
My agency struggles to cover van work as the other HGV drivers refuse to do it. I don’t know why, it’s a nice break - no panicking everytime you see a 7.5t sign, no nervous watching the tacho when you hit town-centre traffic, no worries about load security…
iomex:
That’s interesting… I usually find van wages to be better than HGV /shrug
My agency struggles to cover van work as the other HGV drivers refuse to do it. I don’t know why, it’s a nice break - no panicking everytime you see a 7.5t sign, no nervous watching the tacho when you hit town-centre traffic, no worries about load security…
Agency van driving is usually associated with multi drop and town centre driving.
iomex:
Load of old crap. It’s the same old nonsense from companies who outsource everything then wonder why they have a supply issue. There’s no such thing as a driver shortage, there’s a shortage of drivers prepared to tolerate working for agencies who have them doing multidrop [zb] nobody else wants to do for 8.50/hr.
If more companies hired direct (especially for Class 2), they could afford to pay the drivers the same as what they pay the agencies, they’d be turning applicants away. But no, that involves effort.
Indeed. Given how little vetting most agencies actually do (generally limited to checking your licence, which is what most clients do as well), I’m often surprised that the larger users of agency workers don’t just take all-comers at the front door.
iomex:
That’s interesting… I usually find van wages to be better than HGV /shrug
My agency struggles to cover van work as the other HGV drivers refuse to do it. I don’t know why, it’s a nice break - no panicking everytime you see a 7.5t sign, no nervous watching the tacho when you hit town-centre traffic, no worries about load security…
Cab’s not as comfy, and not as interesting. That’s before considering how many drops are likely to be involved.
iomex:
Load of old crap. It’s the same old nonsense from companies who outsource everything then wonder why they have a supply issue. There’s no such thing as a driver shortage, there’s a shortage of drivers prepared to tolerate working for agencies who have them doing multidrop [zb] nobody else wants to do for 8.50/hr.
Not all agency work is like that. I do agency work, every client I have ever worked for has offered me temp-to-perm and every single time I have declined. My argument is “Why would I take a £2 an hour pay cut to drive the same truck?”
iomex:
Sounds like I need to join your agency xD The company guys I work alongside make a ton more than me doing the same job.
Can’t understand that. The whole point of doing agency work is that you earn more than the regularly employed drivers as a trade-off for being the first to be stood down when work goes quiet.
Some companies, such as DHL, for example, in many of their sites do NOT offer drivers toilets at all…
Such companies do not deserve anybody to driver for them at all.
If a driver works for a company then there will be toilets available, outside drivers is a different matter.
I’ve not been to a DHL site yet that does not offer toilets for drivers, wether I’m delivering in the UK or around Europe.
It’s that time of year again when suppliers are panicking their logistic requirements aren’t going to be met, a failure by the haulage industry.
52000 driver short in the industry, and the reason :-
Green said: “Nearly half of lorry drivers are over 50 years old, so this ‘on the road’ generation is not far away from turning off the engine for good.
“Young people don’t want to work as drivers anymore. For them, the job no longer smells of freedom.
Instead they are faced with expensive training, high insurance costs and problems such as lack of proper toilets .
“This all puts them off the job and we could be the ones that have to pay for this at Christmas
I’m not sure ‘toilets’ are an issue that crops up in an interview for any job, could they be a little more realistic with things like job security , poor level of pay, poor man management by recruitment agencies and clients, lack of professional qualifications and recognition, having to adhere to rules and regulations.
I don’t blame young people for not wanting to come into the industry, it’s not what it was was.
I agree,the trouble is employers are just not getting it through their heads and they never will,as you say it’s all about job security,wages,rules and regulations which are only going to get worse if the government and DVSA have their way,as i said before it really comes down to wages,drivers on here are doing 15 hr days in order to make a decent wage at the end of the week/month,you should not have to work those kind of hours,roads are getting worse ,everywhere you go now is usually gridlocked in one way or another,it will only get worse.
I’m not sure rules and regs are the biggest issue. The latest generation of drivers grew up with them. Excessive bureaucracy is expected - whereas older drivers are having it forced on them after decades of being left alone. People under 30 have had a recessed economy to live with their entire working lives, all they want is a stable wage. Going into trucking is a commitment, and you have all these people saying the job won’t be around in 5, 10, 15, 20 years time. Ofc that’s a load of crap, but in this day and age, you have to pick a job that’ll see you through until you’re 65/70, which this job doesn’t look like it’ll be able to do. Alternative is re-training, but I’d be buggered if I can afford to get a student loan and rack myself up with student debt and have 20 years to pay it off…
Some companies, such as DHL, for example, in many of their sites do NOT offer drivers toilets at all…
Such companies do not deserve anybody to driver for them at all.
If a driver works for a company then there will be toilets available, outside drivers is a different matter.
I’ve not been to a DHL site yet that does not offer toilets for drivers, wether I’m delivering in the UK or around Europe.
I’ve worked directly for DHL and upon asking for toilets I received dirty look like 2nd class citizen of “How dare YOU…” and after moment of silence escorted to 1st class citizen zone where toilets for 1st class citizens were available - no availability without escorting into “the zone”.
You sound like representative of the old dumb soon to die driver category so we - the rest can only be happy about the fact you don’t have much left and we’ll get rid of you to maybe make world a better place.
Statement that You have been in each and every DHL site across Europe and claim that toilets for drivers are available in all of them simply proves lack of basic brainpower.
Jimmy McNulty:
Think its further up the food chain where the consumer demand for lower and lower prices drives down prices throughout.
Always seems to arise from self-centred traits;
I deserve a decent pay rise because I’m worth it but you can’t have one because it will affect my standard of living.
That’s the crux of it. Everyone has been conditioned to expect everything for nothing, and to become all uppity when they can’t have it. Round here the bus company put fares up by about 20p recently. The outcry has been unbelievable, despite it being the first fares increase for a few years (and by 20p, for ■■■■’s sake) at a company where all of the drivers are in a union and thus expect/get a pay rise every year.
People want parcels delivered for nothing. They want to ride round in an Uber taxi for next to nothing. They want to be able to fly to Germany on Ryanair for £20. That’s fair enough, but it shouldn’t be a surprise if wages in these industries and those related to them are ■■■■ as a result, simply because of the reason that there just isn’t any money in the pot to pay anything better.
Can’t really blame consumers for expecting or wanting things cheaper. For too long supermarkets have made larger percentages on their profit margins. Now they have to cut that profit margin and save costs from the bottom of the chain. That is warehouse staff and drivers. The managers wages are not being cut nor are the marketing people, their wages are increasing regardless to the prices they are charging. Drivers and warehouse staff are the easy target that’s all. They won’t kick up a fuss at asking them to extend their working hours and reducing their wages. Others who are valued are little affected.
As a young 'un, the “lack of proper toilets” isn’t a factor. It’s quite well-known that the job involves long hours and is quite anti-social. The hours are a serious issue to young people. Especially when you are in the prime of your life, and wanting to play sports, have a social life, meet women, etc. This, combined with manager’s trying to squeeze every last drop of blood from you.
If I did a 15-hour day, the planners would moan that I should have saved my 15s for later in the week when it was busier. If I did a 13-hour day, they’d moan that I should be maxing-out. Many a time I was told that I “need” to do a 15-hour day, and have a reduced rest. There was “no other option”. Many a time I’d be told on Thursday that I “need” to run in on Saturday. The Saturday “run-in” would turn-out to be a 15-hour day. Apparently “no other option”. Meanwhile, mates who were tradesmen or just working average jobs were working thirty hours a week less, were at home every night, playing football, rugby, cricket, etc. Going on nights out, meeting girls, etc. Yes, I earned a few hundred quid a week more than them, but worked thirty hours per week more. Whether the trade-off between money and your youth is worth it, is down to your personal preference. Then there’s tracking, cameras, VOSA, RDC regimes…
That’s my take on it. Very little gain to a young person apart from higher earnings due to excessive hours. Nothing to do with toilets.
I wonder how many kids grow up wanting to be working in an industry where you’ll get bullied by your planner, expected to work 15 hour days, spending nights out away from your family and friends, having to put up with security on power trips and getting a wash in facilities that should be condemned? Not many.
The industry is just pure dross and the people to blame aren’t customers that want to cut costs, it’s the successive generations of drivers that have allowed themselves to be walked over. When I read threads talking about drivers unions I just laugh because that should have been something that was talked about in the 70s.
Anyway, nothing will change. Drivers wages will continue to fall, working conditions will get worse when we leave the EU and less people will want to get in the job which will lead to the necessity of bringing in automation, better rail networks and the rise of the what van for localised distribution. In the next 25 years lorries will be off our roads for good.
Some companies, such as DHL, for example, in many of their sites do NOT offer drivers toilets at all…
Such companies do not deserve anybody to driver for them at all.
If a driver works for a company then there will be toilets available, outside drivers is a different matter.
I’ve not been to a DHL site yet that does not offer toilets for drivers, wether I’m delivering in the UK or around Europe.
I’ve worked directly for DHL and upon asking for toilets I received dirty look like 2nd class citizen of “How dare YOU…” and after moment of silence escorted to 1st class citizen zone where toilets for 1st class citizens were available - no availability without escorting into “the zone”.
You sound like representative of the old dumb soon to die driver category so we - the rest can only be happy about the fact you don’t have much left and we’ll get rid of you to maybe make world a better place.
Statement that You have been in each and every DHL site across Europe and claim that toilets for drivers are available in all of them simply proves lack of basic brainpower.
Where do I state I’ve been to each and every DHL depot ? As for being a representative of the soon to die catagory, still a few years left in me yet, dumb ? far from it and I don’t claim to know it all, this is haulage and every day is a learning day.
Christmas again, every year it’s the same, though 52,000 is higher this year, question is if we are 52,000 short now, what about the rest of the year ?
I wouldn’t put “Toilets” as a priority, most if not all companies have facilities available to drivers, even if it’s the staff toilet, it’s only a matter of asking, it’s a different matter on the road, due to the lack of overnight parking areas such as truck stops or MSA’s.
The main reason there’s a shortage at this time of year is company demand or a forecasted company demand by agencies which makes it even worse.
Agencies are full of ■■■■ at this time of year, trying to increase their driver numbers to fill any and all client requirements before other agencies do, problem being they advertise potential client vacancies not actual, and drivers who register with them face having to take the odd shift and it’s usually the unsociable hours shifts that are offered to company drivers first as overtime, and any potential earnings advertised by agencies are non existent.
It’s not exactly young drivers that are being misled, older drivers are too, some have worked 20+ years for different companies without any real improvements in pay, they seek different employment with a better standard of living, a drop in wages of £150 a week for a 8-5 job with overtime and home at weekends is far more appealing than working all week starting at ungodly hours and having the pressure of some snot nosed kid of a planner on your case every 30 mins because you’re stuck in traffic.
Young drivers who go through agencies as a start to the industry, become disillusioned, with no actual employee incentives, being treat as an outsider by client staff and drivers, getting the ■■■■■■ end of the stick.
Haulage is on its arse, it has been for a long time and it won’t improve any time soon, the older drivers such as myself have seen it change, it doesn’t hold its appeal anymore, and more emphasis is put on supply and demand than the social aspect of a driver, getting the delivery there on time, a planner today uses auto route and other tools, types in collection and delivery addresses and the software does the rest without taking into consideration delays road or weather conditions if the distance is 150 mile according to them it should be there in 3 hours .
It is a drivers responsibility to manage his hours, it’s a drivers decision to work a 15 or drive a 10 and not down to a planner to tell him otherwise, drivers who know no better do this as they feel pressured get to the destination ASAP cutting the job up for others without actually knowing they are, then there’s those who know they are and ■■■■ it up for the rest.
The industry needs a massive overhaul but until there’s a body that will step forward and tackle companies that mistreat drivers hours rules and regulations and continue to put pressure on drivers the situation will continue.
Drivers are their own worst enemy and if it can’t be done they should state so.
