sweeper1gg:
Class 1 drivers should be on £15.00 min if your working for £9.00 hr dont bother your cocking the job up.
I take it you are working an HGV job for £15.00 an hour then? Thought not…
And IF you are one of the few who are on £15.00 an hour for a DAY job, Mon-Fri with NO nights out PAYE, you won’t mind telling us the name of your TM and the company so everyone else can stop cocking the job up?? And if your on £15.00 for night work over the weekend, your not on anything special sweetie.
I’ve said it a hundred times, every bodies job on here is different, and every bodies circumstances are different, and therefore every bodies priorities are different…
Agencies and companies know that some poor mug will be desperate for a job so will take the job at that rate. They know they won’t stay for years but they know if someone leaves they can replace them easily.
Issue is if you’ve got mouths to feed and bills to pay you ain’t going to turn down the job if offered it and you’d be laughed out the job centre trying to sign on with a truck license.
[quote=“SouthEastCashew”
But where would the world be without lorry drivers…?[/quote]
Using other methods. Truck drivers will be almost non existent in 20 years as the job is automated out.
Conor:
[quote=“SouthEastCashew”
But where would the world be without lorry drivers…?
Using other methods. Truck drivers will be almost non existent in 20 years as the job is automated out.
[/quote]
Lol with how tight companies are now to invest in new trucks it’s gonna be alot longer until that happens and even then the government will make sure all trucks are manned incase of a computer glitch.
Drivers don’t stick together and fight for decent pay.
Some idiots don’t care about the pay, they just want to drive a flashy truck.
Kids who will do it because the think it’s cool LOL.
Immigrants who are willing to work for lower pay.
Drivers only have themselves to blame for not standing up for their rights.
New generation that has been taught to conform and obey since learning at school in a biased fashion about the ‘nasty militant unions’ in the 70s, so any resistance to unfair treatment is a thing of the past, they just take and do anything.
2.Yeh, that’s right, idiots, can’t argue with that one.
3.Not sure if that applies anymore, I think kids have more sense now tbh, and on the whole the job does not really appeal to them anymore, apart from a small minority maybe.
4.Yeh, but who can really blame them, we in the UK done the same in the 80s for the Dutch Gilder, when they paid half as much again than a UK based co.
Drivers will never stick together for their rights, too many yes men and arse wipes on one hand, and lads with outrageous mortgages on the other.
Bottom line is we are stuck with it…Unless of course there is a driver shortage one day, then wages are bound to increase as that is how it works ie demand far greater than supply. (not to be confused with the 'driver shortage bull ■■■■ put about by the agencies that some on here appear to believe)
If i ever ran another truck and took on another driver i’d be looking for the most experienced out there ie loads/tme/l.h.d/ euro work ect but would pay that driver accordingly. Last time i had extra work and rented a unit and trailer for 3 months i paid the driver 14eur ph, 21eur overtime after 8 hours. Profit on the job overall wasnt great but was worth the cost to keep him on board knowing the job would get done and done well…
I wish someone could show me where some of these jobs are that are a good rate. When I say a good rate I mean actually a good rate, not just on the face of it. Ie scrolling through jobs something stands out as a good rate and then you look more deeply into it it means you have to go self employed, low amount of guaranteed hours etc. At least on my 9 quid an hour base rate I know where I am week in week out. I’d jump at the chance of something better, but every time I look it’s always the same. Everything is either similar rate or the ones that look good aren’t actually that good when you work out the entire package.
It’s one of the few jobs you can do with virtual no education.
Quick training, less than to weeks learns you the monkey trick to point a truck in approximately correct directions.
The proof is in the pudding, look at the silly accidents and collisions with bridges and other massive objects.
I am over 35 years in transport in different jobs, and seen the quality of drivers coming down like a brick.
The drivers from old where willing to do the job, where mechanics, customer care staff, planners, and operators while working for a company.
If drivers had to do the job we did than, now; the would be dead.
There was no mobile phone, no sat nav, no nothing.
If you broke down, you had 2 options, mend the truck, or walk until you found a phone or a post office with a telex.
I hated walking, so rather fixed the truck and brought it home.
But you where respected as a truck driver, and as a 19 year old tramping to Germany, DDR, Poland, Belgium and France, I did more money than drivers are making now.
We had to do our own paperwork, make our own T documents ( who remember these) and now what to do with CMR’s and TIR documents.
Now, if it isn’t chewed they cannot ■■■■■■■ eat it.
It is an unskilled job ( some people and jobs excluded) and it will make never money again.
Rowley010:
I wish someone could show me where some of these jobs are that are a good rate. When I say a good rate I mean actually a good rate, not just on the face of it. Ie scrolling through jobs something stands out as a good rate and then you look more deeply into it it means you have to go self employed, low amount of guaranteed hours etc. At least on my 9 quid an hour base rate I know where I am week in week out. I’d jump at the chance of something better, but every time I look it’s always the same. Everything is either similar rate or the ones that look good aren’t actually that good when you work out the entire package.
Yep , you mean the jobs that say in small print "when the boss tells you to drop your trousers and take it up the arse you must to get your bonus "
And by the way there is no “driver shortage” not even a steering wheel attendant shortage.
Never was, never,will be.
As long as Governements are putting people through their driving tests and DCPC (ex-army etc.)
I remember when Rover closed their doors, a lot of the manufacturing staff was offered to get a free driving license.
If you have you hope up that the wages will rise after Brexit, don’t hold your breath.
There are much more people in Britain with a HGV license that their are ever trucks.
As soon as the salary rises a few pence, certain people will pick up the job again.
The only reason for a driver shortage would be, if a medical was compulsory every 5 years from the day that you start driving.
That wouldd weed out 30 year old coffin dodgers, addicted to Maccies D, Costa caramel latte etc.
And on the other side, what is a good wage for 1 is crap for another, realising that you can buy a house in South Wales for peanuts against London or Cheshire, will always give a difference what is a good wage.
26k in South Wales, will go much further than London or Cheshire. (Never mind certain areas in Scotland)
Although I agree that wages aren’t good enough, I left the industry in 2003 and when I returned in 2015 the money had gone down I can’t help but think that £15ph across the board is a little unrealistic. I only lasted 8 weeks second time around before going back to being a police officer and even as a top rate PC I don’t earn &15ph! I now Police the Port of Dover and I see the reason why wages are so low every day. I’d say that 98% of trucks are from Eastern Europe many of which are only over here because British companies have given them contracts over U.K. based hauliers! These drivers probably work for around £5-£6 per hour so unfortunately £9 per hour is decent when you look at the bigger picture.
The one thing I do disagree with is that people who work for £9ph are not messing the job up they are doing what they need to do and have clearly come to the conclusion that £9ph is better than £0ph!
Rowley010:
I wish someone could show me where some of these jobs are that are a good rate. When I say a good rate I mean actually a good rate, not just on the face of it. Ie scrolling through jobs something stands out as a good rate and then you look more deeply into it it means you have to go self employed, low amount of guaranteed hours etc. At least on my 9 quid an hour base rate I know where I am week in week out. I’d jump at the chance of something better, but every time I look it’s always the same. Everything is either similar rate or the ones that look good aren’t actually that good when you work out the entire package.
^^^^^^^^^^
Nail on head. A man who obviously lives in the real world and is not taken in by all the bs.spouted by …especially agencies.
I make no secret of hating ■■■■ agencies, and I blame them for a large proportion of this crap situation.
I know they aint going away and we are stuck with them, but I can remember the days when they were just a bit of a joke.
How that has changed , now they have more or less taken over the road haulage industry to the point that the whole format of the job is unrecognisable to what it once was, …and not THAT long ago either.
Many large firms, who once over exclusively had their own well paid drivers would now rather pay these parasites top rate and then some, for whatever reason, paye hols etc, rather than pay a driver a fair and premium rate direct…so much so that the agency driver is still on a better rate than many full time drivers after the agency has creamed off their bung.
I just don’t get the logic of that one, maybe it’s just me.
I earn really good money , 45 hours mon-fri no nights out whenever anybody asks where I work and I tell them I do cage deliveries for a supermarket the response is always f&@k that I wouldnt do that type of work !!!
For me it makes no difference minimum hours for maximum money that’s what I want !!
Never ceases to amaze me when at every opportunity the old time drivers get on with their put downs of “steering wheel attendants” and the use of newfangled gadgets like mobile phones and sat navs which of course they refuse to use as a map is far better along with a phone box ( do they still work ). As long as each individual is happy with the wage they are earning I wouldn’t let it concern you especially if you’re on £15 ph, happy days for you Part of the reason for low wages was the introduction of the minimum wage because apart from giving some a pay rise it also set a bench mark to start from and employers have taken advantage of this in every industry not just transport, as said another huge factor is the mass import of cheap foreign labour.
As long as you can find a level that you’re happy at I really don’t see why anyone else’s wage should concern you, after all we know that shelf stackers earn far more so that’s always an option for you
wrighty1:
Never ceases to amaze me when at every opportunity the old time drivers get on with their put downs of “steering wheel attendants” and the use of newfangled gadgets like mobile phones and sat navs which of course they refuse to use as a map is far better along with a phone box ( do they still work ). As long as each individual is happy with the wage they are earning I wouldn’t let it concern you especially if you’re on £15 ph, happy days for you Part of the reason for low wages was the introduction of the minimum wage because apart from giving some a pay rise it also set a bench mark to start from and employers have taken advantage of this in every industry not just transport, as said another huge factor is the mass import of cheap foreign labour.
As long as you can find a level that you’re happy at I really don’t see why anyone else’s wage should concern you, after all we know that shelf stackers earn far more so that’s always an option for you
It’s not about putting down anybody, it’s making clear it’s not a “skilled” job, anybody can follow spoken instructions (as we can see here in North Wales, trucks stuck in the most stupid areas, because somebody put shortest route in a sat nav from Liverpool to Newtown, and put an artic nearly of a cliff)
The job is not what it once was, where the grey area in your head had to be activated and you had to think for yourself (how scary was that?)
And yes if you are happy with your salary and your job, not an issue.
I took a massive cut in earnings to get a life, and yes I won’t buy a top of the range car or a 5 bedroom house with my current income, but I am the happiest I have been for a long time!
wrighty1:
Never ceases to amaze me when at every opportunity the old time drivers get on with their put downs of “steering wheel attendants” and the use of newfangled gadgets like mobile phones and sat navs which of course they refuse to use as a map is far better along with a phone box ( do they still work ). As long as each individual is happy with the wage they are earning I wouldn’t let it concern you especially if you’re on £15 ph, happy days for you Part of the reason for low wages was the introduction of the minimum wage because apart from giving some a pay rise it also set a bench mark to start from and employers have taken advantage of this in every industry not just transport, as said another huge factor is the mass import of cheap foreign labour.
As long as you can find a level that you’re happy at I really don’t see why anyone else’s wage should concern you, after all we know that shelf stackers earn far more so that’s always an option for you
Then if they went shelf stack they would have to do some physical work for a living and not just opening curtains and letting forkie take it off or backing on bay and letting muppets unload you
wrighty1:
Never ceases to amaze me when at every opportunity the old time drivers get on with their put downs of “steering wheel attendants” and the use of newfangled gadgets like mobile phones and sat navs which of course they refuse to use as a map is far better along with a phone box ( do they still work ). As long as each individual is happy with the wage they are earning I wouldn’t let it concern you especially if you’re on £15 ph, happy days for you Part of the reason for low wages was the introduction of the minimum wage because apart from giving some a pay rise it also set a bench mark to start from and employers have taken advantage of this in every industry not just transport, as said another huge factor is the mass import of cheap foreign labour.
As long as you can find a level that you’re happy at I really don’t see why anyone else’s wage should concern you, after all we know that shelf stackers earn far more so that’s always an option for you
It’s not about putting down anybody, it’s making clear it’s not a “skilled” job, anybody can follow spoken instructions (as we can see here in North Wales, trucks stuck in the most stupid areas, because somebody put shortest route in a sat nav from Liverpool to Newtown, and put an artic nearly of a cliff)
The job is not what it once was, where the grey area in your head had to be activated and you had to think for yourself (how scary was that?)
And yes if you are happy with your salary and your job, not an issue.
I took a massive cut in earnings to get a life, and yes I won’t buy a top of the range car or a 5 bedroom house with my current income, but I am the happiest I have been for a long time!
In many areas we agree but really it’s not the fault of young drivers but the education system is deeply floored, now I only passed my HGV cat C last year but I am also 50 this year. When I was young we learnt practical skills at school and at home ie: Engineering with lathes, milling machines, forges etc, we also messed about modifying our bikes (cowhorn handlebars lol) and graduated onto motorbikes and battered old cars. Now they are just taught to pass a test hence the lack of actual education and if anything breaks it’s thrown away rather than fixed, I totally embrace any new technology that can help me but like to think I have enough practical skills and a modicum of common sense to cover my arse when needed. Work/life balance is a hard thing to achieve but is great when you do, I’m not on a fantastic wage but with my wife and I both working we are fairly ok with plenty left to enjoy ourselves. I would of course love to earn £15ph but will never stress over not earning it, being content is far more important than how much you can earn.
