I don’t see that.
Unite haven’t called off the strike, merely announced delaying it whilst talks take place.
In the meantime they have pushed the gov’t into making a serious blunder (panic buying, indirectly causing at least one serious injury) and have thus shown how quickly a strike would have effect. In my book thats not “no balls” its a win.
If they had maintained their original stance and had a strike over easter then they know that they would lose any public support they may have, as well as giving the anti union media a field day.
The drivers themselves have shown that they have more balls than the majority of truk drivers in voting for indsutrial action.
I agree that working extra hours to clear the backlog would be a serious mistake on their part.
The trucks run 24/7 anyway so unless they got extra vehicles in there is no chance of that, the relaxation of hours will be just to make it look like the Gov are doing something about it.
… With Littlewoods/Yodel it is probably the easiest job in the world.
Permanent Days or Nights. You choose
Maximum 10 hours per day but usually more like 8½.
Of that driving for probably 3 or 4, rest of the time waiting for trailers.
I use approx 65 litres of diesel per day.
Sounds like heaven… and it is
BUT I’m on only ½ the money you earn.
I’m not complaining but I would love to get on the tankers and earn that sort of money for 5 or 10 years then drop back into something else.
I’m not quite sure you read my post properly or you are really only earning 17k at Littlewoods / Yodel for 8 1/2 hours work a day.
As i’ve said before the pay is good, but I can garauntee you, the job wouldn’t be what you’d expect. Ask any tanker driver you see or in fact look how many are actually looking stressed out of there eyeballs, And I am looking to get out, but like everyone else you get used to the money. But if I can find a night trunking job that’ll get me upto around 30k I’m out of here. But if this lot relent on our hours then the job might become bareable again.
Oh and as for earning more money due to tacho hours being reduced… read my post again If there are 2 shift in 24 hours being routed 12 hours each tell me whats going to change. It is a 24 hour a day 7 day week operation.
There was an advert taking on jobs in Birmingham if you are looking to get into it. Monarch were advertising gauranteed basic 35hours per week 10-50ph to 15-50
My old man used to tell me employers don’t pay you big money for know reason they aint stupid, but my lad you will earn it!
I don’t see that.
Unite haven’t called off the strike, merely announced delaying it whilst talks take place.
In the meantime they have pushed the gov’t into making a serious blunder (panic buying, indirectly causing at least one serious injury) and have thus shown how quickly a strike would have effect. In my book thats not “no balls” its a win.
If they had maintained their original stance and had a strike over easter then they know that they would lose any public support they may have, as well as giving the anti union media a field day.
The drivers themselves have shown that they have more balls than the majority of truk drivers in voting for indsutrial action.
I agree that working extra hours to clear the backlog would be a serious mistake on their part.
I don’t get it at all .Unite aren’t supposed to be out for reducing terms and conditions and they should be looking to increase employment in the industry.Yet,if I’ve read it right they’ve already allowed working practices which seem to involve 2 shifts of 12 hours presumably between a day and a night driver which seems to include a system of ‘enforced overtime’.When surely a system of 3 shifts of eight hours for somewhere around £10 per hour + shift premiums for each driver would be the way to go ?.
By allowing things to get to the present situation they’ve now given themselves an almost impossible mountain to climb regardless of wether their action is working or not.
Wills,
2 straight questions only requiring simple answers
IF hours are relaxed, IF management find some way to implement them
Will you work the extra hours?
Will you earn more or doing so?
del949:
Wills,
2 straight questions only requiring simple answers
IF hours are relaxed, IF management find some way to implement them
Will you work the extra hours?
Will you earn more or doing so?
Think they’ve already shot themselves in the foot to a certain degree by allowing a culture of too few drivers doing too much work with enforced overtime and probably loads of drops per shift to get established in the first place .
If they’ve already got two drivers covering 24 hours there’s probably not much more they could fit into that without having a 32 hour day and/or driving (much) faster between drops.
grousebeater:
Can i just take this back a notch, if what you say above is right then why did you have to call for a strike, why didn’t you vote for a work to rule.
Probably because nobody would have noticed the difference.
There’s people out there these days who’d probably have blown themselves up by using petrol instead of coal indoors when the miners were on strike in 1973.The fact that someone decided to bring petrol into the house and then open the can as well was just blind stupidity.
On the issue of tories v the ‘unions’ nothing will change until people start viewing that for what it is.A vindictive policy by the government against it’s own people considering that ‘the unions’ are made up those same people not some hostile alien foreign force.
del949:
Wills,
2 straight questions only requiring simple answers
IF hours are relaxed, IF management find some way to implement them
Will you work the extra hours?
Will you earn more or doing so?
Think they’ve already shot themselves in the foot to a certain degree by allowing a culture of too few drivers doing too much work with enforced overtime and probably loads of drops per shift to get established in the first place .
If they’ve already got two drivers covering 24 hours there’s probably not much more they could fit into that without having a 32 hour day and/or driving (much) faster between drops.
exactly they have got rid of that many drivers in the last two years thats why they are cutting hours on job times to squeeze more into 12 hours… there is no room for more unless the govt change the day to a 32 hour one for a bit so it wont make a jot off differnce to our contract. The only contract at the moment that can do extra would be shell who dont work weekend nights at the moment
del949:
Wills,
2 straight questions only requiring simple answers
IF hours are relaxed, IF management find some way to implement them
Will you work the extra hours?
Will you earn more or doing so?
Think they’ve already shot themselves in the foot to a certain degree by allowing a culture of too few drivers doing too much work with enforced overtime and probably loads of drops per shift to get established in the first place .
If they’ve already got two drivers covering 24 hours there’s probably not much more they could fit into that without having a 32 hour day and/or driving (much) faster between drops.
exactly they have got rid of that many drivers in the last two years thats why they are cutting hours on job times to squeeze more into 12 hours… there is no room for more unless the govt change the day to a 32 hour one for a bit so it wont make a jot off differnce to our contract. The only contract at the moment that can do extra would be shell who dont work weekend nights at the moment
Where the zb were Unite when this culture started and what were they doing to allow all this to happen.
It’s a lot easier to defend decent terms and conditions than it is to get them back when they’re gone.
I don’t get it at all .Unite aren’t supposed to be out for reducing terms and conditions and they should be looking to increase employment in the industry.Yet,if I’ve read it right they’ve already allowed working practices which seem to involve 2 shifts of 12 hours presumably between a day and a night driver which seems to include a system of ‘enforced overtime’.When surely a system of 3 shifts of eight hours for somewhere around £10 per hour + shift premiums for each driver would be the way to go ?.
By allowing things to get to the present situation they’ve now given themselves an almost impossible mountain to climb regardless of wether their action is working or not.
I’d though this not long back, but then its a logistical probelm an 3 shifts in 8 hours, would mean actual working time of 6 hours 50 after checks and break leaving them room for the longest distance of a 5 hour 50 drive time plus the hour delivery.
Bare in mind One of my drops today was Hazel Grove Stockport for 5 hours (Remember 1 hour of that is loading and delivery, and praying we live in an ideal world with no traffic or ques for the loading bays lol ), they’d only be able to squeeze one local onto that, say a tamworth services for 1.45… they’d need to double the fleet.
Carryfast:
Where the zb were Unite when this culture started and what were they doing to allow all this to happen.
It’s a lot easier to defend decent terms and conditions than it is to get them back when they’re gone.
All I can think that the employers have had us by the balls, with the ammount of redundancies that were going on we didn’t know what to do for the best. This has been building up for a long time… originally began with a campaign called the 4 p’s… to eventually arrive at where we are Today. Think the problem they had was trying to co ordinate to get all the contracts involved as one.
Whats the point of going out on strike if you are gonna go back a few days later, work extra overtime to get the backlog cleared ? I can’t figure out who wins here ? The bosses or the tanker driver.
A) If it’s the bosses then they have defeated the drivers and supplies are being restored to the petrol stations and customers.
B) If it’s the drivers then not only did they get what they wanted but if it’s a pay raise then they winn even more by getting all the overtime at the new pay rate.
C) If nobody has won yet and they went on a short strike, then returned to work they will have achieved nothing by re-stocking the fuel stations because it puts them back at square one.
The golden rule of a strike is you stay out untill you get everything you demand, going back after a few days achieves nothing.
Pat Hasler:
Whats the point of going out on strike if you are gonna go back a few days later, work extra overtime to get the backlog cleared ? I can’t figure out who wins here ? The bosses or the tanker driver.
A) If it’s the bosses then they have defeated the drivers and supplies are being restored to the petrol stations and customers.
B) If it’s the drivers then not only did they get what they wanted but if it’s a pay raise then they winn even more by getting all the overtime at the new pay rate.
C) If nobody has won yet and they went on a short strike, then returned to work they will have achieved nothing by re-stocking the fuel stations because it puts them back at square one.
The golden rule of a strike is you stay out untill you get everything you demand, going back after a few days achieves nothing.
your not reading what I have put, we can’t do any extra the fleet is routed 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Each driver routed for 12 hours. WE CAN’T DO ANYMORE and we don’t want more money. And we haven’t been on strike.
Where the zb were Unite when this culture started and what were they doing to allow all this to happen
they were (TGWU) being led by someone who was more concerned with working conditions on Africa for a large part of it.
■■■■■■■■. The unions were sending all their representatives to Eastern Europe to sign up bums on seats
the few foriegners we did have, didn’t last long they hated the rolling day / night shift pattern, I don’t care about Unite or any Union for that matter I care about myself and my Family.
I don’t get it at all .Unite aren’t supposed to be out for reducing terms and conditions and they should be looking to increase employment in the industry.Yet,if I’ve read it right they’ve already allowed working practices which seem to involve 2 shifts of 12 hours presumably between a day and a night driver which seems to include a system of ‘enforced overtime’.When surely a system of 3 shifts of eight hours for somewhere around £10 per hour + shift premiums for each driver would be the way to go ?.
By allowing things to get to the present situation they’ve now given themselves an almost impossible mountain to climb regardless of wether their action is working or not.
I’d though this not long back, but then its a logistical probelm an 3 shifts in 8 hours, would mean actual working time of 6 hours 50 after checks and break leaving them room for the longest distance of a 5 hour 50 drive time plus the hour delivery.
Bare in mind One of my drops today was Hazel Grove Stockport for 5 hours (Remember 1 hour of that is loading and delivery, and praying we live in an ideal world with no traffic or ques for the loading bays lol ), they’d only be able to squeeze one local onto that, say a tamworth services for 1.45… they’d need to double the fleet.
It seems like a catch 22 with the mixture of longer and shorter runs unless they can find a way of seperating the longer jobs from the local ones and making the longer runs job and finish.
Before people moan about the tanker drivers maybe they should realise that there are jobs out there,which although they don’t pay as much,don’t involve anything like the drawbacks.Id prefer my old night trunking job although it was probably around half the money.There was a time when I only had to do an 11 hour night for double runs from London-Bristol for example but many more were just a single trailer load not two so it was just on return run from London-Bristol and then finished for a full night’s pay.
.Unite aren’t supposed to be out for reducing terms and conditions and they should be looking to increase employment in the industry.Yet,if I’ve read it right they’ve already allowed working practices which seem to involve 2 shifts of 12 hours presumably between a day and a night driver which seems to include a system of ‘enforced overtime’.When surely a system of 3 shifts of eight hours for somewhere around £10 per hour + shift premiums for each driver would be the way to go ?. 
. 
so it wont make a jot off differnce to our contract. The only contract at the moment that can do extra would be shell who dont work weekend nights at the moment
