I informed all my customers that rates were going up by £1 per hour and more on overtime rates as of this coming Sunday. All have accepted without argument.
dozy:
No,nothing,but the agency drivers I was chatting too tonight said they’d all been given a very substantial pay rise.
£1.50 to £2/hr in the last few months in Hull area. Anyone now working for less than £9/hr in Hull is a mug. The agency my agency is subbing me to (yes, it is getting that bad here) is taking on Polish to go to where I’m working and its not to save money as the company I’m working at dictate to the agencies what the agencies pay their staff. Polish will therefore get the same money as everyone else.
Do the polish all have a DCPC card though? - The grandfather rights they might have got away with driving on in the past have now expired.
For once, we really are all in it together on the issue of “must have a blue card - or else!”
Winseer:
Do the polish all have a DCPC card though? - The grandfather rights they might have got away with driving on in the past have now expired.For once, we really are all in it together on the issue of “must have a blue card - or else!”
They expire on Friday for Poland based drivers.
Page 16.
As they must be Uk based though, they have to abide by UK regulations, so from today should have their cards.
How does one get a pay rise? I’m on agency but off work at the moment. Been offered work on the council’s bin lorry contract. Not been told what the pay is yet.
Radar19:
How does one get a pay rise? I’m on agency but off work at the moment. Been offered work on the council’s bin lorry contract. Not been told what the pay is yet.
When they call you to say they’ve got work for you for the next week, you ask them what the hourly rate is. They reply “£9 an hour” and you reply “I’ll do it - but not for less than £10.50” (or whatever rate you think that particular job should pay you).
My pay went up by £1 ph last week! 
If you havent gotten a rise then start banging on the bosses door. plenty of work out there if you are motivated enough to go and look for it.
Roymondo:
Radar19:
How does one get a pay rise? I’m on agency but off work at the moment. Been offered work on the council’s bin lorry contract. Not been told what the pay is yet.When they call you to say they’ve got work for you for the next week, you ask them what the hourly rate is. They reply “£9 an hour” and you reply “I’ll do it - but not for less than £10.50” (or whatever rate you think that particular job should pay you).
I haven’t agreed to anything yet. I told them I’ll call them when I’ve all fixed up. It never crossed my mind to ask what the pay was. 
There are 2 different agencies just started advertising on Radio Clyde yesterday. Apparently desperate for drivers to service lucrative contracts, one even boasting rates of up to £20 p/h. Never known agencies to advertise on radio before and I wouldn’t have thought they’d have paid a small fortune for radio air time if they weren’t desperate. Maybe things are looking up after all.
If you’ve not had a pay rise as yet - don’t tie yourself down to any contract that goes on for weeks and months at a time - or you’ll be locking yourself in at the lower pay scales, which your acceptance of a new contract will then perpetuate. 
The same could be said of “investing your money long term @ current low interest rates” - Don’t commit yourself. Floating rate wages will rise before contract ones do. Once they do, you’ll be more inclined to ask for more, rather than take anything and everything on the chin, because the liars keep banging on that “The work will dry up any minute - Would you like a six month contract?”
mine went up marginally this week but the rate was ok anyway, expect things to rise in a couple of months, had planned to wait until next week before starting regular driving again but back behind a lorry wheel again on Friday. I’ll be keeping an eye on rates in general.
As for the shortage, there is, but its slightly disguised right now because the agencies have been signing up anyone with a pulse and a DQC and the lower paying & smaller companies are scrabbling around trying to sign up anyone and everyone. At some point the part timers like me are going to need a break - my preference is for a couple of shifts a week but I’m booked up full time until I decide I’ve had enough. My son and his pal are doing their class 2 in October and there’s work waiting for them as soon as they’re through their tests if they want it. The attrition from the knuckle-draggers is going to take them off the books so I would say a couple of months and things will start to get interesting, just in time for the christmas rush. The firms paying good rates with good kit won’t notice much but the rest will start to struggle to put bums on seats.
i sat a cpc today company screw up not mine lol. apparently said company estimates that theyre 400 drivers short from been fully manned and they think theyre gonna struggle in the coming months recruiting the said amount unless a good wage rise comes company wide which isnt as yet in the pipeline. Could be an interesting few months, Im easy tho, i`ll be running germany and valencia once the orange season starts
This week I have had an offer of double what I am earning from an agency, 3 months work guaranteed, all went quiet when I asked about the next 3 months.
As it stands I am in full time employment and we are taking more work on, and unless the gaffer goes to Vegas and gambles on the wrong colour Ive got more than 6 months work here.
Any, if I took twice the money I would only tackle twice as many hookers and go on twice as many sessions 
Didn’t get pay rise on September 10th, but we had a pay rise starting last week, so will get it in this weeks pay packet, going to be about £30 a week in the bank 
I’m happy with that 
I got one at the start of the year, after I got my operators CPC, I was going to ask for an extra £3000 pa, but before I could open my mouth the boss offered £4000 pa.
It taken many years but I’ve finally learned there are times to keep you mouth shut. 
However we will be looking for a part time driver for next year, the present one has take a full time job as train guard. 
Don’t know where we’ll find somebody suitable as everybody I know with a HGV and DCPC has a full time job.
I may be tempted back to full time - once the money is giving me more than what I left on. That’s gonna take some doing, as I left for fewer hours rather than better pay - which was always going to be hard to beat when having had Royal Mail as a benchmark for two decades!