jessicas dad:
and how many other jobs pay £15.00ph
what makes us so special.
Remove all truckers from the road for 30 days, and this country turns into Somalia.
This job has never paid a decent wage, it has however paid a livable wage, and i guess it depends on who you work for, or how your paid. It has always been a governments idea to pay a low wage, but to encourage workers to earn more, whilst working longer, so its much better to earn a salary rather than an hourly rate. Our company could be called an own account operator, and can therefore look at the profits and pay accordingly. We are on just under £32 grand a year + nights out, and thats on a 5.6.5.6. rosta, but no chance of overtime. The problem with a salary is the hours you are made to work, there are no fixed hours, and you have to work according to the work load given, but on saying that, its a company who is 110% legal, all the vehicles/trailers are not that old ( they use to change them every 3 years, what we have now is a 5 yr deal ) the conditions are very good, the work is clean, and they leave you alone. We do employ foreign drivers, and they earn the same as everyone else after the probationary period. With agency staff they do earn more ( especially bank holidays, xmas etc ) cos we dont get paid extra ourselves being on a salary, and its a lot easier for our manager to phone the agency and ask them for 10 drivers for tomorrow or whatever, rather than advertise for part timers/casual, although we do have a few of those, myself included, but as for the £15 an hour, keep dreaming, it will not happen for a very long time, the countries in recession, the countries broke, employers are struggling, and only the fittest will survive.
Winseer:
jessicas dad:
and how many other jobs pay £15.00phwhat makes us so special.
Remove all truckers from the road for 30 days, and this country turns into Somalia.
If every seaman and docky went off for 30 days?? Or all FLT drivers ■■?, same thing, with the addition of a lot of whining arsed drivers with nothing to do.
We are a part of todays modern supply chain not the be all and end all of it. 
Unfortunately its a case of supply and demand!!! As supply is high and people are willing the work for around 8 to 9 pounds an hour, there not going to employ someone for £15 as you can get someone for less!!
All we can hope for is that they make the Driver CPC really hard to pass !!! I don’t see that happening, but you mite see slightly less people bothering with it!!!
If you compare us to Train drivers they get around 40k for 36hours work more than double !!! Which would indicate that they are overpaid or us under paid??
The big thing with them is that companies have to train them up and they want to retain there drivers, where as for us lot they couldn’t give a t****, there’s plenty more of us!!!
billybigrig:
Winseer:
jessicas dad:
and how many other jobs pay £15.00phwhat makes us so special.
Remove all truckers from the road for 30 days, and this country turns into Somalia.
If every seaman and docky went off for 30 days?? Or all FLT drivers ■■?, same thing, with the addition of a lot of whining arsed drivers with nothing to do.
We are a part of todays modern supply chain not the be all and end all of it.
Yes, but a part without which it would soon fall apart…logistics without transport is like a car without wheels…looks good in theory but it ain’t going anywhere… 
No need for businesses to pay drivers low wages. Given a free choice, a lot of drivers would happily work for low wages - one glance at this post is enough to see that. Apathy abounds and you ain’t a proper trucker until you graft till you’re ■■■■■■ for as little reward as possible…how dare anyone suggest drivers should get more pay? Disgraceful of the OP to even suggest it…obviously he isn’t a real truck driver expecting to get paid adecent wage and not have to work 60+ hours a week to achieve it…
There are still a lot out there that are happy with their ScanDAFMANTopinerXF to polish and a few crumbs from the rich man’s table…
Nowt as crazy as a lorry driver…
Nowt as crazy as a lorry driver…
Don’t think so, but I think that there are a lot people here who take regular a reality pill and are not day dreamers.
If you think you are more worth than you earn now, change it, do something about it, get another job that pays £ 15.- per hour.
Study, move on, I wanted more than a truck drivers wage and had to pull my finger out and move on.
But stop day dreaming that any employer gone pay you 50 to 100% more, than you have really are not in touch with the reallity.
And the nonsens, if we all stop for a month, the country will be like Somalia, if the supermarket workers stop, if the councel stops, if whoever stops makes no different it will affect your living.
But if you really want to make a change, get 5 million people together who want to pay 50 pence for every loaf of bread extra, every time, than go to Mr Hovis (other companies are applicable) and tell them " if you pay every driver £ 15,- an hour, we guarantee you that we buy your bread for 50 pence extra" maybe you get a chance to increase salaries.
As long as you want the cheapest price, things will never change.
Truckulent:
No need for businesses to pay drivers low wages.
Really explain how and why they should, would or could pay more within the confines of the free market economy ■■?
Given a free choice, a lot of drivers would happily work for low wages - one glance at this post is enough to see that. Apathy abounds and you ain’t a proper trucker until you graft till you’re [zb] for as little reward as possible…how dare anyone suggest drivers should get more pay? Disgraceful of the OP to even suggest it…obviously he isn’t a real truck driver expecting to get paid adecent wage and not have to work 60+ hours a week to achieve it…
I’m happy enough and have reason to be (see my post above) and when I’m not happy I do something about it, personally, me, myself, on my own. Always have done always will do without the need to fuss or the need of backing nor official intervention.
There are still a lot out there that are happy with their ScanDAFMANTopinerXF to polish and a few crumbs from the rich man’s table…
Nowt as crazy as a lorry driver…
Ahh the crux of the matter eh ? Them that have and them that wish they had it. The rich man became a rich man, and your boss, with his big fancy car and house by taking the risks, showing the initiative, having the motivation and drive. More importantly in the beginning he would have carried the burden of risk too. Still I suppose he could forsake the pleasures he’s earned and drive around in a mk3 ■■■■■■ so as not to offend the oppressed masses eh comrade ■■. 
Drivers didn’t like the old ways, roping and sheeting, days cabs, no power steering, no night heaters, crash boxes etc etc.
So they eventually got it to the stage it is now, ■■■■ easy, automatic trucks and easy life jobs.
Trouble is now any bugger with a licence can drive a truck, years ago you had to be a lorry driver, kept the numpties out of it cos they simply couldn’t hack it.
When jobs are easy and simple anyone will do therefore when people get made redundant from other work they invest a couple of grand at Jack Spots driving school and hey presto i’m a truck driver.
In the good/bad old days it took bloody years to learn the ropes, only those who had lorries in their blood did the job, now all sorts do it cos it doesn’t require any skill or strength or knowledge.
Thats why the money is pants in most of the industry, dumbed down.
By the way you can still earn £15+ an hour, go car transporter driving where they are paid car money not hourly rate (forget Ford as they are a special case on mega bucks and dead mans shoes), but you will do two weeks work every single week for it and look and feel like you’ve spent 15 hours down the pit when you’ve finished, been there T shirt etc.
Agences I would ban them.
Carryfast:
But if you want more wages,at least up until the point when the country’s economy collapses altogether like Greece,drive a train not a truck.
As I tell my mate every time he complains about God Bob taking his boys out the gate, If we had a God Bob maybe we’d be doing 39hrs for £40000 p/a.
But here we are in the real world, and that means that your £20000-£30000 pa this year will be worth roughly £20000=£30000 pa next year. A near doubling of the average hourly rate would cause a certain amount of inflation, dont you think 
eddie snax:
Carryfast:
But if you want more wages,at least up until the point when the country’s economy collapses altogether like Greece,drive a train not a truck.As I tell my mate every time he complains about God Bob taking his boys out the gate, If we had a God Bob maybe we’d be doing 39hrs for £40000 p/a.
Part of the reason for there being so many lorries on the road (and therefore jobs for drivers of same) is the inherent distrust of the railway unions, and their ability to stop the job, by business. It’s only very recently that environmental factors have made railfreight more attractive, but until the costs of reinstalling or upgrading the necessary infrastructure have been met, it’s never going to be big in the UK, basically because it lacks the flexibility of road transport.
billybigrig:
Carryfast:
Good drivers,pilots,and doctors etc etc are born not driven.However there’s no reason why drivers or anyone else should be paid less than they need to provide them with a civilised living in a civilised developed economy and there’s certainly no reason that would explain the difference between a train driver’s salary compared to most types of truck driver’s salary,at least at C+E level.Define your “civilised living” ■■. In the many years I’ve been doing this job I’ve always maintained what I class as a civilised living
I’ve never wanted for anything nor struggled to pay bills. I’ve always run decent cars and lived in nice houses in nice places. I’ve dressed and eaten well and,touch wood, remained fit and healthy. What more could a man need
It’s not how much is coming in but how you choose to spend it
You need to be earning a train driver’s wage if you want that standard of living,especially if you live in the South East.
But £6-7 per hour will become increasingly seen as being good enough for a truck driver ‘if they choose how to spend it right’ with a £300,000 + mortgage and a deposit of around another £50,000+ saved in the bank to put down + all the other expenses and the decent car’s running costs at £6 per gallon etc etc.
In the jobcentre’s and the Tory government’s world anyway.
on the run:
Unfortunately its a case of supply and demand!!! As supply is high and people are willing the work for around 8 to 9 pounds an hour, there not going to employ someone for £15 as you can get someone for less!!All we can hope for is that they make the Driver CPC really hard to pass !!! I don’t see that happening, but you mite see slightly less people bothering with it!!!
If you compare us to Train drivers they get around 40k for 36hours work more than double !!! Which would indicate that they are overpaid or us under paid??
The big thing with them is that companies have to train them up and they want to retain there drivers, where as for us lot they couldn’t give a t****, there’s plenty more of us!!!
The issue of train driver’s pay shows that it isn’t only all about supply and demand considering that there’s not exactly loads of train driving jobs on offer at the job centre but there’s loads of applicants for the job. 
Carryfast:
on the run:
Unfortunately its a case of supply and demand!!! As supply is high and people are willing the work for around 8 to 9 pounds an hour, there not going to employ someone for £15 as you can get someone for less!!All we can hope for is that they make the Driver CPC really hard to pass !!! I don’t see that happening, but you mite see slightly less people bothering with it!!!
If you compare us to Train drivers they get around 40k for 36hours work more than double !!! Which would indicate that they are overpaid or us under paid??
The big thing with them is that companies have to train them up and they want to retain there drivers, where as for us lot they couldn’t give a t****, there’s plenty more of us!!!
The issue of train driver’s pay shows that it isn’t only all about supply and demand considering that there’s not exactly loads of train driving jobs on offer at the job centre but there’s loads of applicants for the job.
CF, i don’t think driving a train is easy.
I have had a long chat with a train driver and he is having to sit a test every 2 years and has to make sure he get’s 92% pass everytime. They have to go through loads of tests to just be able to keep there jobs.
Sorry but driving a truck from A to B isn’t that hard, yeah £9 to £12 an hour is ok, but £15+ is stupid. Some people will have a moan about this post, but if you get paid at that rate you will get more then a standard PC on the beat who deals with knifes etc. You will also get paid more money then a gent/female who is on the front line fighting for his/her country.
I am not disrespecting the role of a lorry driver in anyway shape or form, this is clearly my view on it.
billybigrig:
Truckulent:
No need for businesses to pay drivers low wages.Really explain how and why they should, would or could pay more within the confines of the free market economy ■■?
Have you seen the profits these people make■■? Tesco? Asda? Morrisons? for example.Hmmm no margin there at all to pay the people they would have no business without more than £8 an hour is there■■? They barely make ends meet in their business
Given a free choice, a lot of drivers would happily work for low wages - one glance at this post is enough to see that. Apathy abounds and you ain’t a proper trucker until you graft till you’re [zb] for as little reward as possible…how dare anyone suggest drivers should get more pay? Disgraceful of the OP to even suggest it…obviously he isn’t a real truck driver expecting to get paid adecent wage and not have to work 60+ hours a week to achieve it…
I’m happy enough and have reason to be (see my post above) and when I’m not happy I do something about it, personally, me, myself, on my own. Always have done always will do without the need to fuss or the need of backing nor official intervention.
There are still a lot out there that are happy with their ScanDAFMANTopinerXF to polish and a few crumbs from the rich man’s table…
Nowt as crazy as a lorry driver…
Ahh the crux of the matter eh ? Them that have and them that wish they had it. The rich man became a rich man, and your boss, with his big fancy car and house by taking the risks, showing the initiative, having the motivation and drive. More importantly in the beginning he would have carried the burden of risk too. Still I suppose he could forsake the pleasures he’s earned and drive around in a mk3 ■■■■■■ so as not to offend the oppressed masses eh comrade ■■.
So what your suggesting is lets work for poor pay because my boss is great, 'cos he runs a few wagons?? Does that apply to all the big companies as well?
If you take your hypothesis to it’s logical conclusion, we should be grateful for just getting food for our labour…Yeah, at least we’ve all got a job…why don’t we petition to be allowed to drive 12 hours a day then the boss will be able to shaft us even more?
In my case I am already my own boss and I do not work for some national company that thinks £7.50/hour is a fair wage. Indeed I have occasionally earned £15/hour as a driver so it can be done, though granted certainly not all the time. I do not think for a moment that drivers should earn the same as the one who has taken the risks, that isn’t how business works. I merely suggest that drivers should be paid a fair percentage and having to work 60+hours a week to earn that percentage is basically unjust. Most posts on here state that companies can’t afford to pay drivers any more. This I will believe when all the managers/clerical staff in all logistics operations work 60+ hours a week for £7.25/hour…why must it be the drivers that suffer??
Is it really so bad to want to be paid a fair rate? Do you really think that current wages are fair doing 60-80 hours a week to earn the same as most folk do in 37.5 hours?
Plenty of drivers are happy, but if we had no minimum wage what then■■? What would be your minimum acceptable rate per hour■■?
,you ars correct its not brain surgery,but the pay in this job has now become a joke.just notice how many young people are coming into the vjob,to replace us older ones.
Let’s look at the bigger picture here - if a small haulier who employs say 4 drivers is forced to increase the rate by 50% from £10 to £15 per hour, whilst running on a rate subcontracting where he hardly makes anything anyway, it is going to ■■■■■■■ him and force him to become unprofitable, he will have to up his rates and loose the Job to a bigger haulier who can afford to swallow the wage bill, ending up with 4 drivers out of work earning nothing! And another small haulier out of business due to driver greed!
I agree the wages are crap at the moment, but let’s be honest, it’s crap whatever you do. We are not brain surgeons or bankers, so we are never going to be top earners, but we are grafters and being grafters is what will keep the industry going and give small hauliers a chance!
MysonVinnie:
Let’s look at the bigger picture here - if a small haulier who employs say 4 drivers is forced to increase the rate by 50% from £10 to £15 per hour, whilst running on a rate subcontracting where he hardly makes anything anyway, it is going to ■■■■■■■ him and force him to become unprofitable, he will have to up his rates and loose the Job to a bigger haulier who can afford to swallow the wage bill, ending up with 4 drivers out of work earning nothing! And another small haulier out of business due to driver greed!
I agree the wages are crap at the moment, but let’s be honest, it’s crap whatever you do. We are not brain surgeons or bankers, so we are never going to be top earners, but we are grafters and being grafters is what will keep the industry going and give small hauliers a chance!
+1
MysonVinnie:
Let’s look at the bigger picture here - if a small haulier who employs say 4 drivers is forced to increase the rate by 50% from £10 to £15 per hour,OK, how many hauliers of any sort pay £10/hour anyway? What if the ones paying £7-£9 upped it to £10-£12? £15 is unrealistic, yes but is £10■■? Is say £7.35 acceptable which, based on a ‘normal’ 37.5 hour week would pay £275.63 gross. Would you be happy on that?? Could you even live on it?? I’m suggesting a fair rate not an extortionate rate…
whilst running on a rate subcontracting where he hardly makes anything anyway,
In which case he will be out of business soon anyway, whatever he pays…
it is going to ■■■■■■■ him and force him to become unprofitable, he will have to up his rates and loose the Job to a bigger haulier who can afford to swallow the wage bill, ending up with 4 drivers out of work earning nothing! And another small haulier out of business due to driver greed!
No, another small haulier out of business due to the rates war that has existed ever since the likes of Stobbies cut the rates to the bone
I agree the wages are crap at the moment, but let’s be honest, it’s crap whatever you do.
Yes, but most crap wages are based on 37.5hours a week not 60+…
We are not brain surgeons or bankers, so we are never going to be top earners, but we are grafters and being grafters is what will keep the industry going and give small hauliers a chance!
I agree with this, but small hauliers will never compete with big hauliers cutting the rates…whatever drivers are paid.
I think you will grow old and grey working as a lorry driver before you see £15 per hour for LGV driving.
So if you like driving so much, train to become a driving instructor on cars 1st , you will earn £20 to £22 per hour self employed.
If you choose to teach LGV you will only get £12 per hour. It’s your life go for it you will only live it once.