And it’s views like that which keep our hourly rates low.
Although by comparison to your wife’s job, it is easy. But in the grand scheme of things it is not bottom of the chain as some employers seem to think is where our worth belongs.
dar1976:
In a way immigrant has a point. OMG I said it.What he says about the employer paying for the load to be delivered is correct.
But it relies on a qualified alert responsible driver and that’s the bit that is not accounted for.
Ok to drive a HGV a driver has to be qualified, but that’s only a couple of weeks training in reality.
and I’ve met plenty of very dim drivers who manage to get the goods to where they are supposed to be going, even though they damage trucks and property, don’t really give a damm about the work etc.
And you good drivers are being paid to the capability of the lowest common denominator, and while those people can get a job that’s what you are worth in this job, unless you can puesude your boss that it’s worth paying you more because you’ll save him the money that he’d spend giving the job to a muppet.
dar1976:
And it’s views like that which keep our hourly rates low.Although by comparison to your wife’s job, it is easy. But in the grand scheme of things it is not bottom of the chain as some employers seem to think is where our worth belongs.
no it’s not, it’s supply and demand that dictates that 05 was good as demand was high and not so good now as supply is high. the supply comes from everybody in the world of driving age who has the means, ability, inclination and the right to come here and work. enough of all those people are currently saying the rates offered offer a better package for them, than a different profession would.
and why do some drivers get hung up on shelf stackers, it’s a job that people have / need to do, as opposed want to do. they would have to pay a lot more than they do to get me to stack shelves, hence why i don’t do it.
dar1976:
And it’s views like that which keep our hourly rates low.Although by comparison to your wife’s job, it is easy. But in the grand scheme of things it is not bottom of the chain as some employers seem to think is where our worth belongs.
sez him who clears £260 for 6 days 
and then calls me greedy for wanting a decent weekend rate
I get 6 washers a packet of polo’s and a pork pie and I’m grateful.
commonrail:
dar1976:
And it’s views like that which keep our hourly rates low.Although by comparison to your wife’s job, it is easy. But in the grand scheme of things it is not bottom of the chain as some employers seem to think is where our worth belongs.
sez him who clears £260 for 6 days
and then calls me greedy for wanting a decent weekend rate
I wasn’t boasting. I was saying 260 for 6 days is ■■■■.
jessicas dad:
I get 6 washers a packet of polo’s and a pork pie and I’m grateful.
I have better then that. I have a pack of 8 and i am chilling in the sun 
I’m a london bus driver.
I should be on £15ph min for days, more for weekends nights.
Ive done all sorts of driving, and without doubt, bus driving is the hardest.
jessicas dad:
I get 6 washers a packet of polo’s and a pork pie and I’m grateful.
E by gum it’s grim up north.
daveb0789:
If we are reducing jobs to basic levels I don’t have to steer and just pull a lever. Apparently a monkey could be trained to do thatBut there’s so much more to truck driving than mentioned. It is a truely skilled job and it’s about time you were all paid what tanker drivers get!
It’s at least as skilled as being a Police traffic patrol driver and they’re not exactly paid peanuts as an hourly rate.In addition to that there’s load security issues and a lot more responsibility in the size of vehicle etc etc.
But there’s no way that truck driver’s wages can increase without wages increasing by a similar amount throughout the economy in all types of jobs and without sorting the issue of pay differentials,that recognise the fact,that there’s a lot more people who’d prefer to drive a truck,than to work in a factory or a warehouse for example.So it should be minimum wage for the copper and at least the copper’s wage for the truck driver and a bit more for the factory workers etc etc who have to work inside. 
kr79:
jessicas dad:
I get 6 washers a packet of polo’s and a pork pie and I’m grateful.E by gum it’s grim up north.
I’ll undercut that.Just the washers and a packet of crisps will do because I can’t stand polos or pork pies.
mickyblue:
jessicas dad:
I get 6 washers a packet of polo’s and a pork pie and I’m grateful.I have better then that. I have a pack of 8 and i am chilling in the sun
They used to pay a pack of three than shaft you
Let me quote you a little passage out of a great book I am reading again!
With 40 deliveries per day, the work was much harder than on the farm as the laundry was packed in hampers weighing 100lbs (45kg). Most of the storage rooms were up two or three flights of stairs and each delivery would be 6 or 8 hampers.
I had my licence to drive when I was 17 with no L plates or tests. Tommy and I did most of the routine maintenance; greasing was done by screwing off the brass caps, filling them with grease and screwing it back on to force grease between the spring shackles, bearings, steering joints and pins. Oil level in the engine was checked by taking off a round plate about 6’’ in diameter from the side of the crankcase, rocking the flywheel to move the crankshaft and see that the oil was high enough in the crankcase for the big end bearings to dip into the oil when the engine was running. We had to decarbonise the engine and grind in the valves about every 6 weeks.
Now how much do you think you are worth? 
yesterday i worked for the World 3th largest Retailer.
As it gets Hot and Drinks gets carried to the Shops is the weighbridge out of Order.It shows the Weight but doesn.t prints them.
150 kilogram on Steering Axle overloaded,so im back to Office.
Give the Truck to someone,not that fat,the Manager said to the Clerk 
Immigrant:
yesterday i worked for the World 3th largest Retailer.
As it gets Hot and Drinks gets carried to the Shops is the weighbridge out of Order.It shows the Weight but doesn.t prints them.
150 kilogram on Steering Axle overloaded,so im back to Office.
Give the Truck to someone,not that fat,the Manager said to the Clerk
Been on the juice again?
Carryfast:
But there’s no way that truck driver’s wages can increase without wages increasing by a similar amount throughout the economy in all types of jobs and without sorting the issue of pay differentials,that recognise the fact,that there’s a lot more people who’d prefer to drive a truck,than to work in a factory or a warehouse for example.
The fact that a lot of us want to be lorry drivers is probably the biggest influence on our wages, especially those that had problems finding their first job, all those years of dreaming about driving lorries, then they get the licence, spend a year, or however long, looking for a start and then take whatever they can get when it’s offered, that sets the lowest common demoninator and everyone’s wages are based on that figure, it’s the way it’s always been and it’s called supply and demand and it’s basic economics 
I completely disagree about an increase in Driver’s Wages causing a knock on effect in the economy. Think about the amount of goods carried on a lorry and then think about what is being carried, for the vast majority of drivers, their load is a consumer good of some description, there are very few people carrying raw materials around as there is hardly anything manufactured anymore. So the average lorry driver has a trailer full of cans of pop, or beans, or frozen chicken, or the latest electronic gadget, or bin liners, whatever, you get my drift, in every case there are thousands of individual items carried in the trailer, take a 28ton load of fizzy drinks, that’s approx 70,000 cans of drink on that load, a penny extra on each can would give you 700quid, that’s on each load, say a lorry does two loads a day, that’s 1400quid, over 5 days that’s 7grand, so adding a hundred extra pounds to the wages of a lorry driver would add fractions of a penny to the price of consumer goods, so nobody would really notice, and the extra money the lorry driver earned would go straight back into the economy anyway, so everyone would win
dar1976:
commonrail:
dar1976:
And it’s views like that which keep our hourly rates low.Although by comparison to your wife’s job, it is easy. But in the grand scheme of things it is not bottom of the chain as some employers seem to think is where our worth belongs.
sez him who clears £260 for 6 days
and then calls me greedy for wanting a decent weekend rate
I wasn’t boasting. I was saying 260 for 6 days is [zb].
The point I’m trying to make,is that you criticise one driver for belittling the job,then you criticise another(me) for demanding a decent weekend rate.
The bottom line is that employers will pay the minimum amount they can to get a bum on the seat, and during a recession when lots of people are out of work, then that’s not a lot.
newmercman:
Carryfast:
But there’s no way that truck driver’s wages can increase without wages increasing by a similar amount throughout the economy in all types of jobs and without sorting the issue of pay differentials,that recognise the fact,that there’s a lot more people who’d prefer to drive a truck,than to work in a factory or a warehouse for example.The fact that a lot of us want to be lorry drivers is probably the biggest influence on our wages, especially those that had problems finding their first job, all those years of dreaming about driving lorries, then they get the licence, spend a year, or however long, looking for a start and then take whatever they can get when it’s offered, that sets the lowest common demoninator and everyone’s wages are based on that figure, it’s the way it’s always been and it’s called supply and demand and it’s basic economics
I completely disagree about an increase in Driver’s Wages causing a knock on effect in the economy. Think about the amount of goods carried on a lorry and then think about what is being carried, for the vast majority of drivers, their load is a consumer good of some description, there are very few people carrying raw materials around as there is hardly anything manufactured anymore. So the average lorry driver has a trailer full of cans of pop, or beans, or frozen chicken, or the latest electronic gadget, or bin liners, whatever, you get my drift, in every case there are thousands of individual items carried in the trailer, take a 28ton load of fizzy drinks, that’s approx 70,000 cans of drink on that load, a penny extra on each can would give you 700quid, that’s on each load, say a lorry does two loads a day, that’s 1400quid, over 5 days that’s 7grand, so adding a hundred extra pounds to the wages of a lorry driver would add fractions of a penny to the price of consumer goods, so nobody would really notice, and the extra money the lorry driver earned would go straight back into the economy anyway, so everyone would win
I think the problem with the £700 extra on the 70,000 cans of drink idea is that costings aren’t worked out on type of consignment but just on the basis of a loaded truck which can be anything up to a 44 tonner and what it’s carrying is irrelevant.The driver’s wages are the same wether it’s running empty,half weight,or fully freighted and it makes absolutely no difference what that load is.It could be 20-25 t of cans of drink or 20-25 t of anything else.If it was possible to charge by the item,such as in the cans of drink example,then drivers working in that sector or on containers loaded with thousands of cheap consumer goods would be earning a comparative fortune compared to those hauling more bulkier loads 
.
It’s a much more complicated equation than just multiplying a penny by the number of cans of drink in a truckload needed to be taken up the road in the distribution sector.Realistically it’s just a case of subtract all the running costs of the wagon from the cost per mile that you can get to haul a truckload of anything regardless of what that load might be.All in an environment where the general rates,and therefore wage levels,are based on an industry that’s subject to the lowest common denominator of cheap east european labour either in the form of east european trucks or east european immigrant drivers.That’s in addition to that issue of more people wanting to be drivers than working inside.
Which just leaves the exceptions that prove the rule.Maybe if it was the choice between earning £6 per hour doing a local multi drop job or maybe a part time job inside maybe for two or a maximum of 3 days a week then just maybe I’d take that assembly line job on the line making Astras. 
Which is what I meant,about wage levels would need to rise throughout the economy,to provide the the type of incentive needed,to remove some of the demand for jobs by hopeful prospective drivers in the industry,thereby reducing supply.
Carryfast, that’s a load of ■■■■■■■■ 
The example I used showed that even a 700quid increase in the cost of a single movement of cans of coke would only add a penny to the price on the shelves, we’re not talking about giving drivers/companies that kind of an increase, so an extra hundred quid a week would only add fractions of a penny to the cost to Joe Public, if it added any cost at all
Even adding a pound per ton to a load of sand or gravel would be easily absorbed and the same applies to anything carried on a lorry, whether you’re talking about weight or cube, a lorry carries a lot of stuff around during a week’s work, in the case of sand and gravel, most will move a thousand tons a week, so again we’re talking pennies added to the cost of moving each ton, the same applies to high volume stuff
In fact doing that would actually help the economy, as it stands companies like Coca Cola or Bardon Aggregates make a ton of money, it goes into the already bloated accounts of the shareholders, whereas giving the drivers a little more would mean that the money would go back into the economy as most drivers would spend their extra wages on essentials that they can’t afford now or on luxuries, meaning that there would be more stuff being moved around, so more drivers would be needed, and not only are drivers buying more stuff, but they’re buying from places that employ people and more money being spent means more jobs, so simple really
It’ll never happen though, because the current set up means the rich continue to get richer, while the poor get poorer