Polish drivers - Tilbury docks

[jonah_1]

On Thursday night I was waiting to go into 39 berth in Tilbury when 2 Bowmurs drivers turned up.

The problems started when the drivers could speak no English and the reception staff spoke no Polish.So they could not be booked in as one of them had a problem with his paperwork.

A third Polish driver turned up but he also could speak no English, They then handed a mobile phone over to the reception staff , thinking it was a translator but the person on the mobile was apparently trying to communicate in German .

Then somebody I presume to be a manager/supervisor for Tilbury came out to talk to the drivers.He drew their attention to the Health & Safety notice on the board at the entrance to the terminal booking in office and asked them if they understood what it means.

They all looked at each other spoke in their mother tongue then looked at him and smiled.He again asked them if they understood what was written on the sign & got the same response on the third occasion he refused the access on the grounds of health & safety as they could understand the procedures and are more likely to have an accident within the terminal.

As I left the terminal they were awaiting the imminant arrival of an interpreter so I dont know how it ended.

Now the point I want to make is I dont have anything against these drivers coming over here after all they are just trying to do the best for their families and after all If any of us were offered £5000 per week to work in France or Spain I’m sure we’d jump at it.

The problem I have is with the bosses in this country instead of viewing the WTD as a positive and using it as an excuse to put the rates up (& therefore pay a better wage).

They would rather keep the wages down and import drivers from abroad without giving them the training they required to do the job over even ensuring they can speak English.

There would be no driver shortage in this country if employers paid a decent wage.If this happened then the drivers that hold hgv’s but are working in other industries may be tempted back to the wheel.

After all £480 p/w for 48 hours + nights out @ £20 sounds like a good wage to me and for a fair weeks work.

Unfortuneatly the bosses have too much clout with government (through the CBI,FTA,RHA etc) and watered it down so much with the POA clause that it is actually no different for most us than it was before it was dreamed up

I’m not a militant driver I’m an O/D who would like to be an employer but it just aint worth all the hassle at the moment.

[kw]

I seem to remember from somewhere that Norbert Dentressangle were laying off some UK drivers on the bulk tanker division a few months ago.
Only down at Dover last week waiting for the same boat as me were three Polish or Russian drivers with UK 03 reg Magnums,Norbert Magnums.

[topcat]

With refence to european drivers, ( i class myself as a euro driver), How many of us speak the lingo of that we deliver to?.I feel sorry 4 the polish drivers ,perhaps they r like us ,drive trucks because they love doing it. Many big companys abroad have their health and safety in many diffrent language’s,perhap’s uk company’s should start to realise many eastern countries are part of the EEC ,and English is just another language.
I was going to write some more but ,the wife has summoned me (shopping,GREAT!!! )

[jonah_1]

I see the point you are making but they are not working across Europe but staying in the Uk so I would have thought a basic grasp of the language would be helpful

again I’m not having a go at the drivers but just pointing out the practicalities.

[eddie_snax]

This sought of problem at least may make some of these companies think a bit harder before employing EU drivers. I’ve got no ethical issues about it ,just concerned that it may have a negative effect on UK drivers wages. As for signs in many languages, at most places were they deal with a lot of foreign drivers they do this allready, but a container lift {i assume thats what you were doing} would expect to deal with domestic drivers only.

[muckles]

Well it the employers problem and I hope it’s cost them money. They think they can save money by getting Polish drivers without checking if the drivers could speak the language of the country they would mainly be working in. Many people from the former Eastern Blok can speak English, but obviouly this company were approached by an agency and didn’t bother to check or didn’t think speaking English would be a problem. It probally shows a company that think that all drivers do is point the truck in the right direction and don’t actually need to communicate with anybody.

It’s different to being a visiting driver and not speak the language, although it’s always useful to know a few words.

[wheel_nut]

Well the problem is with Tilbury then. They should have a sign up in Polish if they want visitors to read it. There have been ships going into tilbury for many many years, most of them crewed by foreign seamen.

I went to Wales and they have some signs written in a strange language. Am I supposed to stay out of their places of work?

Grow Up

[topcat]

Yer right , if you work 4 uk company and work in uk a basic english is needed, But some of these european driver’s are employed by agency’s, and we all know what their policy is “A driver supplied, and charge as much as possible,” They dont care, they have obliged with customers request, Perhaps companys needing agency drivers, should ask 4 drivers who have basic english.
Until we get recognized as professional’s , there will be no change in pay and condition’s, Come on let’s face it ,anybody can drive a truck ,and reverse blind side at night and persistently raining ,or the possible thought of been gassed at night ,hi-jacked and knowing if anything goes wrong its your fault, it’s an easy job , why do we moan so much !!!
Thanks nsh for your regards, gagging to drive again.

[coffeeholic]

topcat:
I was going to write some more but ,the wife has summoned me (shopping,GREAT!!! )

Can’t you show her your sick note and get out of it?

On the subject of the H&S notices, I’ve read a couple of them and they often make very little sense even written in English.

[warrior]

regarding H&S its the employers responsability to ensure the employee is aware of the regulations and capable of reading them.If this company are employing drivers for this country ,and they cant speak the language they are in breach of the H&S regs.

[topcat]

coffeholic, I tried, but the words" mellingering old git" were mutted,and also the wife said fresh air and a good walk was great medicine ( yer maybe ,but not round Allder’s and Tesco)

[brit_pete]

Here is my answer i live and work in Germany , to do my job

properly ,I must be able to read ,write, and speak German. I am

employed as a driver / ADR TANKER;CONTAINER; I also drive a

trailer with ADR loads, I must be able to carry out these tasks

and deal with any problems that can occur, IF YOU DO NOT

SPEAK-UNDERSTAND the langue where you are working you

are a risk to yourself and the people you are working with.

HERE is another point where are the VOSA people why are they not

checking these firms out to ensure that all is being done to

ensure that non- british drivers are competent to drive here in

the local market . It is a known fact that certtain countries it

is easy to get false papiers ie, driving licence etc .What about

the HSE offices why are they not looking in to this problem

as well. If you look on the job center and look at international

jobs all of them state you must speak the langue of the

employer . this is true because I was looking last night

weither it was belgium or holland , it was stated you must speak

there langue.

[wheel_nut]

And I bet if the port officious had asked these polish blokes in German or French they would have answered him in many more languages than most of us speak.

I bet they can speak Russian, French and German with ease, I dont believe English was taught in Poland when it was under russian rule.

Although BritMark said that you have to speak and read german to drive a tanker or carry ADR. I am self taught and can be polite in the language, I never had to show any understanding of German Language to get a job. or more to the point when stopped by the BAG

most of the Factories and Ports I delivered to had notices and instruction written in many languages

[conor]

All Mammoet drivers have to be able to speak the language used in the countries they deliver to. Found this out whilst riding shotgun with one of their Dutch drivers who’d brought an abnormal load over.

If they can do it, why can’t the rest?

[davey_driver]

Aldi are a swedish company ■■? So does that mean all UK drivers should be able to speak Swedish when delivering there incase the Swedish? MD is there?

A Port of all places should have H&S available in multi languages, simple as that, you cant expect drivers to learn all languages just to suit a few people, and as already has been said, the odds are these guys will speak many languages, just English aint one of them.

The only languages I can speak are English (Basic Lol) and Geordie (Basic)

[coffeeholic]

Aldi are a German company Davey, first store opened in Essen in 1948.

That’s kind of scary that I even know that fact. Note to self, must get out more.

Were you thinking of Ikea?

[muckles]

If you went to work for Aldi in Sweeden then you should be able to speak Sweedish. I wouldn’t think of taking a job in Poland without being able to understand and speak enough Polish to do my job, but if I was just doing a delivery I might learn just enough to say Hello, Goodbye, Thank You, and Beer
It’s not really the fact that the signs should be in different languages, but the fact they could understand instructions given to them, which means they might not understand something told to them that could effect the safety of themselves or others.
I agree that many people in Europe are multi-lingual, so if they could speak French or German would it be better if they worked in France or Germany.
Many in the former Eastern Blok countries can speak English. My truck was unloaded by a mixture of Albainian’s and Macedonian’s the other week and we all managed to complain about the weather in English. However if they had not been able to speak English it would have made the job nearly impossible and dangerous.

[truckyboy]

I think a lot of people are missing the point…if a company like bowmers can employ polish drivers and i`ll bet at a lower rate than they would pay the brits then everyones job could be in danger…whats to stop other companies from sacking all the english and employing lower paid workers…well for a start a guy i used to work for years ago built up his business and decided to employ Romanien drivers…well the ministry visited him one day and said…you cannot employ foreigners to drive british registered trucks unless they have a british licence…which is contrary to the e.u. regulation that states that a fellow e.u. member can live and work in another e.u. country…so you can bet your bottom dollar that they do not have british licences…although i have been told that a foreigner can in fact drive here for a year on their licences and then they have to exchange it for a brit one…we need to clarify the situation…then report any companies that are flouting the regulations…i know the french would…and the dutch have instilled a regulation that before a foreigner can work there they have to speak the language…my son in law lives and works there…so i wonder why its always the brits that stick to the rules and the other members of the e.u. dont ?..grass them up i say…and save your jobs…for its not the first time we have heard about this practice…but dont start moaning when your out of work and a foreigner is seen driving your truck the followng week…
have a nice day

[brit_pete]

Again for those who who did not read my betrag I said that

I work on the german transport side and sorry you must be able

to converse etc why because you are working for a german

company and the adr licence test is in german not english

also many of the firms who do dangerous loads state that

the drivers of a company based in Germany must be capable

of converseing and understanding written,spoken german so

that they can do the work safely, This is not required when a

transport company comes from outside Germany.

[wheel_nut]

Wheres LIDL from?

An EU driver with an EU licence can drive any vehicle in the EU

Romania isnt and probably never will be in the EU athough 2007 was the target

I am a British dtiver with an EU licence, that means I can work anywhere in the European Union.

Maybe some of you should read a book about Douglas Baader. He commanded a Squadron of Polish Drivers who couldnt speak English!

Have a look at the war memorial at Uxbridge, It is not an advert for Mr Sheen

Without them we might all be dressed like Prince Harry and even worse related to his Grand Dad