muckles:
It’s not the lack of people who’d want to give it a go, We have several drivers who regularly deliver to us who ask how to get into the industry, it’s the lack of teams willing to look beyond the decreasing pool of truck drivers they know, those that leave the industry tend to do so, not because of the type of work, but because personal circumstances change.
Firstly the issue of elitism,often manifested in the bs ‘experience’ issue,in the case of any job which might have a claim to be more attractive than others,is just another nail which is nothing new.Although as I said in my case driving for a motorsport team,having early on eventually sorted out the true nature of the job,would have been way down my list anyway v a decent international trunking job with an outfit like TNT etc. Again the decent wages just being a bonus.
muckles:
It’s not the lack of people who’d want to give it a go, We have several drivers who regularly deliver to us who ask how to get into the industry, it’s the lack of teams willing to look beyond the decreasing pool of truck drivers they know, those that leave the industry tend to do so, not because of the type of work, but because personal circumstances change.
Firstly the issue of elitism,often manifested in the bs ‘experience’ issue,in the case of any job which might have a claim to be more attractive than others,is just another nail which is nothing new.Although as I said in my case driving for a motorsport team,having early on eventually sorted out the true nature of the job,would have been way down my list anyway v a decent international trunking job with an outfit like TNT etc. Again the decent wages just being a bonus
So a European trunking job would be your ideal, it would bore me to tears, same route each day why would that be any better in Europe than doing it in the uk. Surely the idea of doing European work is to go to new places, new routes, bigger horizons, not to plod along the same route each day?
But we’re all different, I much prefer to go to differrent places, be a valued part of the team not just a number and share the highs and lows, and when driving the truck have nobody checking up on you, tracking you, no cameras in the cab, take the route you want and stop where You want. Provided you get the kit there when it’s supposed to be nobody important is worried about how it gets done.
Smidgen over min wage for first 8 hours, 9.7something after, (8hrs guaranteed, he’ll when did anyone do an 8hour day?) Sats time n half, suns/bank hols? Double. Sure id like to be paid more, but I do the job because I love it not for the money (well yes I do it for the money as yknow, bills to pay and ohmigod mortgage in next few weeks!!). Granted when I was on agency id turn anything below £8ph down, still turning down work cos I didn’t have the hours. Nowadays im just glad to be back on the road, im pulling a paypacket that, if im reasonably sensible allows me to pay a mortgage, bills, anf save something and spending money for pub at weekend. And theyre paying me this for, the majority of the time, enjoying myself . Winwin in my situation, or (as one of our arctic guys said today, maybe im just weird).
Or a ’ loselose ’ situation for everyone else (previous post).
All good and well driving around with a hard on and getting paid, but the more cab happy drivers we have, the less chance of drivers sticking together.
If you love the job so much, why don’t you just do it for NMW all hours worked?
muckles:
So a European trunking job would be your ideal, it would bore me to tears, same route each day why would that be any better in Europe than doing it in the uk. Surely the idea of doing European work is to go to new places, new routes, bigger horizons, not to plod along the same route each day?
But we’re all different, I much prefer to go to differrent places, be a valued part of the team not just a number and share the highs and lows, and when driving the truck have nobody checking up on you, tracking you, no cameras in the cab, take the route you want and stop where You want. Provided you get the kit there when it’s supposed to be nobody important is worried about how it gets done.
To be fair I’m referring to a time when there were no cameras or trackers which as I’ve said are all part of the problem and realistically international trunking just probably meant less time spent sleeping in the truck and more time at home.
While admittedly the big race series season tours would obviously provide a larger variety of destinations and routes there’s the downsides which I’ve described of relatively large amounts of ‘other duties’ between runs.Which I’d guess is at least a big deal breaker for many.
While I’d guess a typical international trunking job,as I’ve described,would at least provide the combination of distance day runs throughout Europe including the usual furthest type points like Spain and Italy.But with more time at home than doing similar on a tramping or typical Euro haulage type basis.IE arguably the best possible combination.Which might explain why such jobs have usually been a case of dead man’s shoes v the other alternatives including as in my case uk night trunking.While now having mostly if not all been lost to foreign and/or foreign sub contract,operations anyway.
As for following the GT race season around Europe for example that’s better to be kept for private road trips with the car paid for with the money earned driving trucks.
I’m no expert and my management days are well behind me, but has no company ever thought, ok here’s what our overall drivers wage bill is, for all our paid drivers, and the agency crap we have to use to make up the deficit. Now let’s see what we could do to that rate for our blokes, if we did away with agency? I’m pretty bloody sure we’d have a lot more bums on seats, and a fleet in much better nick.
eagerbeaver:
Or a ’ loselose ’ situation for everyone else (previous post).
All good and well driving around with a hard on and getting paid, but the more cab happy drivers we have, the less chance of drivers sticking together.
If you love the job so much, why don’t you just do it for NMW all hours worked?
Well, nmw for all hours would ve kinda taking the yellow liquid really given what we have to and continue to have to pay out. I was a ■■■■ a few years back and lost my licence so for now just happy to have my dream back, providing it pays the bills and a bit tho im not that concerned re wages. Stable job and income doing something I love. Maybe in a few years ill be more jaded, I dunno. Its a work in progress pal
mike68:
From a recent stint in the office I can say that around 80-85% of the drivers I came into contact with were bone idle incompetent and work shy, out of 200 drivers I would struggle to give the names of 20 I would employ.
The problem is that most drivers in this game are already being thrashed beyond their limits, way beyond any reasonable bounds. Most drivers think (with good objective reason) that too much is routinely asked of them, that there is no room to give more.
In an industry where almost everyone has done 15 hour shifts at some point without asking for it, can it be seriously said that drivers are workshy or bone idle?
Outside driving, I’ve only encountered compulsory overtime rarely, and limited to one hour (for a total of 8 hours work a day) - if you were really salivating at the prospect of time-and-half, you could volunteer for another hour, taking the total to 9 hours. All during sociable, normal waking hours.
I think even Bob Cratchett only worked 12 hours in a fictionalised account of Victorian squalor, and that was in daylight. Or are you suggesting that drivers are driving too slowly or something when they are actually at the wheel?
Most people are simply too long in the tooth, too experienced in being poorly treated in too many driving gigs, to even care about the purpose of their job, before even considering whether those that do care have any more left to give when already under such heavy strain.
I’ve said before, there is not even remotely a shortage of drivers - there remains a significant over-supply - and the employers are simply swirling in a cesspool of their own making.
They say the problem with capitalism though is that it eventually runs out of other people’s money!
Affordable housing is going. Secure jobs are going. Pensions are going. Free healthcare is going. Good working conditions have gone. Social security is gone. Free education has gone. Apprenticeships and paid training has gone. Consolidated national industry has gone. Wages are falling. The underlying economy is shrinking. And all hope for future improvement has gone. The only thing still increasing is profits!
mike68:
There is no shortage, no shortage of licence holders anyway.
The shortage is of decent drivers who do the work correctly bring the kit back in one piece and don’t constantly whinge when they don’t get their own way.
There is also a great shortage of employers who offer decent terms and conditions, expecting 60 hours a week no paid sick leave a basic holiday pay, why would any sane person be away from their family all week for £450.
From a recent stint in the office I can say that around 80-85% of the drivers I came into contact with were bone idle incompetent and work shy, out of 200 drivers I would struggle to give the names of 20 I would employ.
I reckon there are a lot of drivers who hold LGV licences, but have moved into another line of work since the introduction of the DCPC.
In theory, if they got that first blue card, and intend to let it lapse at the next five year mark - they could go back to driving at any time - but just don’t want to.
We all know there IS an actual shortage of drivers when it comes to say, London C2 Multidrop - but what about the other lines of work, like for example “Day Recycling” or “Night Trunks”?
You still get to see a LOT of “average age 53” drivers on these kinds of runs. It’s the jobs they can’t fill that end up going out to agency on a regular basis surely?
They say the problem with capitalism though is that it eventually runs out of other people’s money!
Affordable housing is going. Secure jobs are going. Pensions are going. Free healthcare is going. Good working conditions have gone. Social security is gone. Free education has gone. Apprenticeships and paid training has gone. Consolidated national industry has gone. Wages are falling. The underlying economy is shrinking. And all hope for future improvement has gone. The only thing still increasing is profits!
With Capitalism, only 1% earn actual real money (ie enough to make you rich in the long run) with the other 99% only being paid in “credit”.
I suggest that any YOUNG driver right now with a wife and kids and no debt - is a happy man. The wages have improved of late, but not if you have debts to pay off…
When you earn £1000 and pay out £1100 - you only got paid a credit - an amount that allows you to put everything else “on the slate”. Over time, you can only slide into further debt, as a windfall return is needed to get rid of those pesky £100 overspends…
Winseer:
We all know there IS an actual shortage of drivers when it comes to say, London C2 Multidrop - but what about the other lines of work, like for example “Day Recycling” or “Night Trunks”?
You still get to see a LOT of “average age 53” drivers on these kinds of runs. It’s the jobs they can’t fill that end up going out to agency on a regular basis surely?
It would be interesting to find out any exact licence class difference regarding any so called ‘shortage’ of drivers.Also breaking that down and identifying between the old class 3 v 2 grades.Then types of work.Bearing in mind that not many drivers seem to want to stay doing class ‘2’ for long usually trying to upgrade to class 1 ASAP predictably seemingly based on quality of work opportunities more than wages.
mike68:
From a recent stint in the office I can say that around 80-85% of the drivers I came into contact with were bone idle incompetent and work shy, out of 200 drivers I would struggle to give the names of 20 I would employ.
The problem is that most drivers in this game are already being thrashed beyond their limits, way beyond any reasonable bounds. Most drivers think (with good objective reason) that too much is routinely asked of them, that there is no room to give more.
In an industry where almost everyone has done 15 hour shifts at some point without asking for it, can it be seriously said that drivers are workshy or bone idle?
Outside driving, I’ve only encountered compulsory overtime rarely, and limited to one hour (for a total of 8 hours work a day) - if you were really salivating at the prospect of time-and-half, you could volunteer for another hour, taking the total to 9 hours. All during sociable, normal waking hours.
I think even Bob Cratchett only worked 12 hours in a fictionalised account of Victorian squalor, and that was in daylight. Or are you suggesting that drivers are driving too slowly or something when they are actually at the wheel?
Most people are simply too long in the tooth, too experienced in being poorly treated in too many driving gigs, to even care about the purpose of their job, before even considering whether those that do care have any more left to give when already under such heavy strain.
I’ve said before, there is not even remotely a shortage of drivers - there remains a significant over-supply - and the employers are simply swirling in a cesspool of their own making.
They say the problem with capitalism though is that it eventually runs out of other people’s money!
Affordable housing is going. Secure jobs are going. Pensions are going. Free healthcare is going. Good working conditions have gone. Social security is gone. Free education has gone. Apprenticeships and paid training has gone. Consolidated national industry has gone. Wages are falling. The underlying economy is shrinking. And all hope for future improvement has gone. The only thing still increasing is profits!
I posted a job opportunity on here yesterday after a local company rang me in desperation because they can’t get drivers. If you didn’t see the post it was £8 an hour. he seemed to think I was crazy when I mentioned he’d do better paying ore and said something like “If you saw the state of some of these drivers you’d know why I only pay £8”.
I have had two ‘Operators’ in this week both running small 15 - 20 vehicle fleets. One on general haulage and one on specialist farm produce. Both are having to drive themselves because they are short staffed and both say they can’t get drivers. When quizzed on pay the General haulage guy said £8.75 “but there’s loads of overtime if they want it” and the specialist guy wouldn’t comment - so I am guessing maybe less.
As has been said - there is no shortage of licenced/qualified drivers, but there seems to be a shortage of those that then want to drive with that licence.
I am however keeping kindda busy with drivers attending a weeks CPC course because they want to get into driving. Most seem to have just been made redundant or are in a trade that is suffering from lack of work. Quite a few landlords come through looking for a change. Most seem quite upbeat about becoming drivers but maybe that is their lack of industry awareness I think some are in search of that £35,000 a year as a truck driver that is currently all over Facebook
Again the decent wages just being a bonus.
. Winwin in my situation, or (as one of our arctic guys said today, maybe im just weird).
that’s better to be kept for private road trips with the car paid for with the money earned driving trucks. 
