Totally agree with what you say Mark but if you have the get up and go to do that you can go and find your own work aswell.
It’s like the mixer and Tarmac contract haulier gig you seem to be an employee with non of the benefits like holiday pay redundancy etc and all the head aches of an owner driver.
The “bottom line” for ESL is that by persuading some of their brain dead elves to convert to “O/D” status means they (ESL) can “questionably” avoid the costs of direct employment but still retain TOTAL control over the vehicle and driver.It just smacks of them been further squeezed by their Masters the big Supermarket and various giant food and drink manufactures! Desperate times call for desperate measures and putting a stroke over like this on some of their drivers proves the fact.When the “proverbial” starts hitting the fan in 12 months time or so ESL will stand back and deny all responsibility for the wreckage they surely will have created !! Dear oh dear,just watch this space! Bewick.
I know tesco have promised savings on shopping to help hard pressed families and all the other supermarkets will follow. And surely they don’t want to impact there profits to much so its got to be done from savings and transport is going to be one area to make savings.
Bewick:
The “bottom line” for ESL is that by persuading some of their brain dead elves to convert to “O/D” status means they (ESL) can “questionably” avoid the costs of direct employment but still retain TOTAL control over the vehicle and driver.It just smacks of them been further squeezed by their Masters the big Supermarket and various giant food and drink manufactures! Desperate times call for desperate measures and putting a stroke over like this on some of their drivers proves the fact.When the “proverbial” starts hitting the fan in 12 months time or so ESL will stand back and deny all responsibility for the wreckage they surely will have created !! Dear oh dear,just watch this space! Bewick.
Listen to the advice and opinions Ady, and read and re-read Bewicks above post as that about sums up the ESL O/D scheme, theres something very big in it for them otherwise they wouldn’t be pushing it. And if you become an ESL O/D, whats going to change over what your doing now, your still going to be driving a truck in their colours under their instruction, but with you carrying a lot more of the can.
Be careful, and take off those green tinted spectacles and get an accountant to go through their proposals with you, and take heed of her/his advice.
Wheel Nut:
It is the spotters i feel sorry for, never mind, they could always change allegience!
Re the comment re braindead elves- yes Stobart have more than their fair share of brain dead workers. Plenty in the offices playing which driver shall we favour this week? Or what BS and rumours shall we feed to the drivers today? Or that perennial fave- lets see if we can REALLY p**s this driver off by giving him the virtually impossible to do on his last shift and run him out of time before he gets back to base. Yes this has happened to my husband. He is a Stobart night tramper, not a brown nose/fan/spotter and certainly not braindead. Granted the elf bit strikes a chord. We already pointed that out to him years ago. As most drivers will appreciate, you go where the money is, not, if you’re a reasonably sane and grown up person, go to whoever ‘gives’ you the brightest shiniest V8 that can just as easily be given to another driver who doesn’t mind running bent if u object to being paid minimum wage. U can’t remove an over polished wheel trim and offer that to your mortgage company by way of payment can you? So Stobart it was and is until the current ‘risk’ of redundancy is finalised. Maybe if the company looked at how the office planks soz planners ‘plan’, then they wouldn’t be quite so much in the ■■■. The money/time wasted is unbelievable. Case in point- Goole-Middlesbrough Tesco DCs with empty trailer, drop said trailer, properly that is, go into office wait while plank faffs about only to be given paperwork for same trailer back to Goole empty! Now Stobart, tell us how thats upping your green credentials! How does the company justify making drivers redundant while retaining and advertising for agency drivers who decide to do a new slant on you shop we drop as in hitting bridges and shaving the top and doors off trailers? And all the the other ■■■■ ups caused due to a lack of care and pride in the job. Breaking news- Stobart are ALLEGEDLY (just in case they read this, following their lead, I’m covering my back in case of threat of legal action) requesting voluntary redundancies at Sherburn. And ALLEGEDLY a subbie is being given the boot. And to top it off- spotter and 13 year old son harrassing my husband and another driver at 11.30 last night and still there at 1am this morning. Now who’s braindead■■?
Wheel Nut:
It is the spotters i feel sorry for, never mind, they could always change allegience!
Could be really daring and stalk an owner driver with just 1 vehicle to his name lol. Esp on the continental work. Now that would be different! Or do what my husband did and spot the spotters. Some sad old git pulled up just after he got up one afternoon and started scribbling into his sad git book so my husband took down his reg, make of car etc. Rather surprisingly the old ■■■■ did not like that. Thought he would have been peeing himself with excitement that a Stobart driver was paying him attention. Apparently not! As my husband reasoned, how would you feel if you woke up, opened your bedroom curtains and I was standing on top of my trailer staring into your bedroom. The reply was that he wouldn’t! U just could not make some of this tripe up if you tried. I’m wondering if the spotters are part of the care in the community mob out on release with the care workers re-jigging the tesco mantra to suit their habits- I drop- you spot!
rant over i think not
enjoyed them will be looking forward to your next one
3.45 am, gordano services 2006. i open my curtains and theres a taxi parked in front of truck taking down name and fleet number, but at least in them days we didnt look like elves…no looking like a bumble bee was stobarts idea of fashion those days… 