I get absolutely hacked off with drivers who are happy to be walked all over as long as they have a ‘decent motor’. I was going to unsubscribe to this post after all the negative ‘they get what they deserve’ posts but then along comes Winseer who has restored my faith in mankind.
Well said mate, I wish you worked at our place!
I’m a bit surprised for all the winseer love, there’s some right in there, but theres some ■■■■■■■■ aswell
Can I just ask fellow HGV drivers posting hate against Tesco drivers why they do it ?
I speak from experience as an ex Doncaster driver of 15 years …and yes I did wear a tie ( This dates from the Glass Glover days ) what is wrong with looking smart if the job allows you to. Many of the older drivers at Doncaster are ex general haulage , Continental and Middle East men who have seen it done it got the T shirt types ,they really have got their hands dirty in the past hauling across Europe and beyond .
When Tesco/Glass Glover came to Doncaster in late 1988 it was fantastic because here we had somebody paying good money and conditions, something that was rare in transport especially around Doncaster which was still (and still is ) recovering from the Miners Strike and Pit closures . Of course a lot of the old hands jumped at the chance to work for Tesco , for once getting good money for driving a truck .
What is wrong with other drivers ( I am not going to give you respect by refering to you as professional …because you’re not) slating other drivers just because they happen to have a well paid job…very rare around Doncaster I must add .
Stobarts are spoiling it for everybody and ARE driving down rates/pay and soon every Company will want to pay likewise ,we should be looking to improve rates not lower them .
What Stobarts are doing at Doncaster is wrong and standing up to them is to be commended, whether the drivers prove or achieve anything we will have to see.
I think it will be a uphill struggle but wish them luck .
We all want a decent wage ,good conditions and a comfortable standard of living, what is wrong with trying to keep it?.
envy…pure and simple.
they hav`nt got it…so why should anyone else 
commonrail:
envy…pure and simple.
they hav`nt got it…so why should anyone else
Bang on the nail there fella
Nothing wrong with that ‘mick palmer’ but why the arrogance & attitude thinking tesco drivers & all staff in general are better than the rest of us just because you work for a ■■■■]ty supermarket & get paid a few pence an hour more than the rest of us? Sainsbury, Asda, waitrose drivers don’t behave like that in my opinion so I treat them as such with the same level of respect they have towards me when I come into contact with them…
Winseer:
If the strike doesn’t shut down the entire site, then it didn’t work did it!?
This a million times. The only thing that would make Tesco take notice is all their Yorkshire and Lincolnshire stores not getting food supplied.
Had contact last night from an agency i’ve not driven for in eighteen months, during the conversion about them being short of drivers for their contracts, they mentioned the Big Green Mean Machine.
I wonder why they require drivers in Manchester urgently? (a quick trip over woodhead to collect a load from…)
how many Tesco drivers get every month ot anually■■?
Pimpdaddy:
Nothing wrong with that ‘mick palmer’ but why the arrogance & attitude thinking tesco drivers & all staff in general are better than the rest of us just because you work for a [zb]]ty supermarket & get paid a few pence an hour more than the rest of us? Sainsbury, Asda, waitrose drivers don’t behave like that in my opinion so I treat them as such with the same level of respect they have towards me when I come into contact with them…
I totally agree with what you say , we are all doing a job …driving trucks/lorries/vans and whatever we drive and for whoever we drive we should treat each other with respect .I am no better than or worse than the next man/woman .
I drive trucks because I like doing so (30 years now) and I will never look down on anybody ,we are all keeping Britain moving …and doing a bloody good job too! , general haulage,boxes,containers,tankers etc… and whatever you drive like me are trying your best in a tough industry. Its a fact we are not liked by the general public and so we need to stick together and cut out the ‘■■■■■■■’ .
If we all respect each other ,then things will improve on the road and across the industry…and maybe like my old workmates in Doncaster, stick together and not allow the Stobarts of the world to expect us to roll over and forget about it.
things like this are never good, sorry to hear this, but just remember me and others who actually work for the green, and remember its not our fault, its our boss and his members,so if this does kick off dont take it out on us as we are only doing our job to earn a crust to keep our roof, and we are all pawns in the game werether green or blue!!
don’t get me wrong, everybody wants to be on top money and it doesn’t matter what you’re on, most would want more and there’s nowt wrong with that. but to me when on good money and keep pushing for more and more (which may or may not be the case here) then you’re risking pricing yourself out of a job.
i don’t think tesco have the monopoly on stringing it out drivers.
and don’t start on about rate cutters, it’s a normal business practice. and is something 99% of you will be taking advantage of when spending your own money, you can’t have it both ways.
to me, if you want to make business decisions / policy / strategy, then start your own business, it doesn’t sit with me right, people wanting to dictate how someone else’s is to be run. there are plenty of laws about to stop firms doing anything they want to employees.
I’ve got nothing against tescos or agency or ESL drivers in particular. I’ve been 2 out of 3 of them already after all. The whole concept I’m trying to put across here is that we’ve all, as drivers, been played against each other, in the name of increased company profits whilst being asked to take pay cuts, agree to “jam tomorrow” deals, and put on a race to the bottom across the industry.
When was the last time a haulier went bust because the boys & girls would NOT take that cut in pay & conditions that the firm told them was necassary for the firm’s very survival?
9 times out of 10 that’s a load of old ■■■■■■■■ to funnel staff into some fancy “jam tomorrow” deal, which of course is still waiting to be honoured 5-6 years into the next upturn.
I might be exaggerating with the suggestion that as many as 1 out of 10 are actually plum deals! - Anyone care to comment on their access to a real-fair-and-square-does-what-it-says-on-the-tin deal with any firm?
I believe all this racing to the bottom is costing actual lives in the bigger picture too.
Drivers working until 67 instead of retiring at 60 - cos their pension has been looted, and just won’t give them a living if they actually decide to take the 60 option. 0.5% base rates mean crap annuities, and you’re supposed to live off the returns of annutities from your invested pension pot! Nowdays, it pays to start smoking just before your retirement to push the rates up a bit… Or maybe take a holiday on the razz in Brazil… Or maybe just put in an extra shift in London this weekend. 
Drivers working 80+ hour weeks and only getting paid 48 to keep it legal. No amount of proplus is going to increase the safe driving of someone so tired…
Basic pay is so low, you are compelled to work stacks of overtime at ■■■■-poor rates just to pay the mortgage and get the food shop in. No wasteful spending - it’s not a living wage in so many areas of the UK now!
Accidents…Stressed out. Accidents…poor health. Accidents… money worries. Accidents… too many hours, too tired, Too late?! - This year has been a complete massacre on THAT department hasn’t it?
Poor health, ageing population, over-houred, underpaid, over stressed, & under-appreciated.
We are NOT “steering wheel attendents” or “gear stick jockeys” of “supporters of the greasy spoon economy” or whatever. A proper transport industry is the only thing that makes one country differ from a third world country.
Jeez, I wasn’t starting out here trying to put myself up as Union Rep, but reading back… 
I seem to be one of the few full timers who’ve ditched it for part time - clearly not a popular option out there. With 2 relatives dead of heart attacks related to arguments at work at about the age I’m at now, I’m taking the “wind it down a bit” advice more seriously than many others might do, it’s true to say.
When I’m 67 I’d like to already be retired, and living comfortably. NOT struggling, NOT still working, and most of all NOT sitting on the mantlepiece in a plastic pot! 
Yeah well working for tesco I doubt you’ll get to live happily & comfortably ever after as you wish geezer…
I’m supporting them in a way, I’ve told my agency I don’t want any work next week. This is because I know I’ll be sent to Stobarts and then sent into Donny to do a load, and I just don’t want/need the hassle. I’m lucky though as I have work elsewhere and don’t rely on my agency work.
Personally though, if you didn’t see the redundancies coming when Stobarts took over you were in dreamland. Striking won’t change the situation, and the rummor around this week was splitting the fleet between Chesterfield and Goole and closing the whole lot within 2 years.
Well I work for stobarts, fortunately not at Doncaster. I do feel sorry for the Donny drivers, it’s not nice what’s happened and I support whatever action you take. But I’m afraid I will be crossing that there picket line on tuesday. I’ve already been pre warned that I will be ending up at Donny that day, delivering a load in and maybe taking a couple of store runs out. I could have said no and refused it but in all honesty I can’t afford to. I have 3 young children at home that require feeding and clothing. In this current climate every penny counts in my house. So I’m sorry for those that will man the lines and I’m sure that the abuse will be flung as I drive past. But I am just trying to earn a living and keep a roof over my family’s heads. I’m not the one making you redundant. Don’t take it out on me.
haribo4000:
Well I work for stobarts, fortunately not at Doncaster. I do feel sorry for the Donny drivers, it’s not nice what’s happened and I support whatever action you take.
But I’m afraid I will be crossing that there picket line on tuesday. I’ve already been pre warned that I will be ending up at Donny that day, delivering a load in and maybe taking a couple of store runs out. I could have said no and refused it but in all honesty I can’t afford to. I have 3 young children at home that require feeding and clothing. In this current climate every penny counts in my house. So I’m sorry for those that will man the lines and I’m sure that the abuse will be flung as I drive past. But I am just trying to earn a living and keep a roof over my family’s heads. I’m not the one making you redundant. Don’t take it out on me.
So what “action” are you “supporting” exactly then? 
Sounds like you’re sticking 2 fingers up to your colleagues and only looking out for yourself to me.
haribo4000:
Well I work for stobarts, fortunately not at Doncaster. I do feel sorry for the Donny drivers, it’s not nice what’s happened and I support whatever action you take. But I’m afraid I will be crossing that there picket line on tuesday. I’ve already been pre warned that I will be ending up at Donny that day, delivering a load in and maybe taking a couple of store runs out. I could have said no and refused it but in all honesty I can’t afford to. I have 3 young children at home that require feeding and clothing. In this current climate every penny counts in my house. So I’m sorry for those that will man the lines and I’m sure that the abuse will be flung as I drive past. But I am just trying to earn a living and keep a roof over my family’s heads. I’m not the one making you redundant. Don’t take it out on me.
I support whatever action you take,but will be crossing your picket lines.lorrydrivers have always been there own worst enemy,get some backbone man,I WILL NOT CROSS,you could be next
Do you think picketing stores will help? The public will just look at you with disdain. You will be moaning to them that you aren’t getting you big wages and easy work? Will they care? No because you get paid more than the majority of shoppers.
Don’t like the conditions that you are being offered? Leave and get another job.
happysack:
Do you think picketing stores will help? The public will just look at you with disdain. You will be moaning to them that you aren’t getting you big wages and easy work? Will they care? No because you get paid more than the majority of shoppers.
Don’t like the conditions that you are being offered? Leave and get another job.
Yes. That is the crux of it. And if you can’t find a job with better pay and conditions then STFU whining and realise that you’re being paid the going rate already.