Hi,
Do you guys know of any Hgv drivers trade unions?
URTU united road transport union
Usdaw
Unite, formerly TGWU, have been a member for years and the jobs where unionised are invariably at the better end of terms and conditions.
Or you could try RMT, who apparently do welcome HGV drivers, though i don’t know any lorry drivers who are members.
Usdaw…and they have a Road Transport Distress Fund scheme that you can join. The scheme costs £5 a year but means they will pay any fines that you get whilst driving commercially (up to 3 a year)…they won’t take the points for you though!
We use usdaw cost us £9 a month
An airline I used to work at had 2. Unite for the Cabin crew and BALPA for the flight deck. BALPA are pretty well respected with regulators and industry and do have some teeth (not without fault). They are currently strongly fighting the regulator and parliament for changes to European working hours proposals. Unite were a paper tiger. Completely toothless and useless. I can’t remember them achieving any benefit during some pretty nasty labour relation problems at that company, more of a badge. They maybe better for drivers. I can see the state the poor road haulage is in - being held up to the wire with rates and heavy handed archaic old fashioned approach regulation. It’s a classic case in point for wide spread joining of a powerful union to take on and fight for changes in the system and culture. Without one single entity there’s nothing to corral drivers though. Vicious circle, it’ll never happen.
Can anyone give an example of a union (any union) that has actually improved the lot of your average ‘professional’ driver?
I can only recall erosion of the T&C’s that were hard won over time in the past and the use of subs to support corrupt political parties and union bosses?
I can still be persuaded otherwise but I’m not holding my breath.
Save your money
Unions are ■■■■ with shopstewards who just look after themselves, don’t give the leaches a penny
My Terms and Conditions have been under threat since 1999.
Without a strong Union my Pay, Pension and Holiday Entitlement along with my working conditions would have all been changed and not for the better.
The Union’s are only as strong as it’s Members.
fodentanker:
My Terms and Conditions have been under threat since 1999.Without a strong Union my Pay, Pension and Holiday Entitlement along with my working conditions would have all been changed and not for the better.
The Union’s are only as strong as it’s Members.
I agree but the so called working mans’ party are also now clothed in blue and hide behind or make changes to the law to legislate against the unions and keep the working man poor enough to need his crap low paid job.
Unions = no teeth = no chance I’m afraid so people should save their money.
fredthered:
Can anyone give an example of a union (any union) that has actually improved the lot of your average ‘professional’ driver?I can only recall erosion of the T&C’s that were hard won over time in the past and the use of subs to support corrupt political parties and union bosses?
I can still be persuaded otherwise but I’m not holding my breath.
Quite easy that: your average train driver and his £45k for a 37-hour week. They are professional drivers, the difference between them and HGV pilots being they stick together and do what they say they will, rather than just talking a good game.
Olog Hai:
fredthered:
Can anyone give an example of a union (any union) that has actually improved the lot of your average ‘professional’ driver?I can only recall erosion of the T&C’s that were hard won over time in the past and the use of subs to support corrupt political parties and union bosses?
I can still be persuaded otherwise but I’m not holding my breath.
Quite easy that: your average train driver and his £45k for a 37-hour week. They are professional drivers, the difference between them and HGV pilots being they stick together and do what they say they will, rather than just talking a good game.
Plus they have strong bargaining tools, the general public and the public ■■■■■, it would never work at Bobs trucking (other trucking firms are available).
£45,000 for 37 hrs is only benefiting the chosen ones, it has no bearing on the working population in general.
D’ya not?:
Plus they have strong bargaining tools, the general public and the public ■■■■■, it would never work at Bobs trucking (other trucking firms are available).
^This.
This thing about train drivers ‘sticking together’ and reaping the rewards crops up here all the time. It’s a totally different ball game.
If London Underground drivers walk out it brings a whole city to it’s knees. That’s just one group of drivers working for the same company. Same levels of disruption can be caused if just Virgin drivers walked out, or Arriva drivers, or First drivers. Thats not exactly train drivers ‘sticking together’ is it, just looking after themselves and exercising their ability as a single workforce to cause widespread chaos at the drop of a hat.
I work for one of larger retailer in the UK, the thing is that everybody says we are underpaid and we have c.a. 55-60 hrs working week. At the same time noonedoes nothing to try and change this. This is just sick situation. On the other hand I can see that you guys discourage drivers from enlisting with trade unions. How than can we fight for better pay?
So what about freight train drivers then?
The rail freight companies receive no Government money and compete against each other for work. Just like hauliers, really. Yet they earn the most of all, there was one on here not long ago who proved via wageslip scan that he did not far off £60k.
I can’t remember the last time freight train drivers went on strike. Bet they’re all union men and women though…
scyzor:
Hi,Do you guys know of any Hgv drivers trade unions?
Hi scyzor, being a member of a trade union has its benefits and I can recommend UNITE and you can join online, same as Urtu. Never consider Usdaw as any union who have a no strike policy is like a toothless tiger.
S’funny, same old anti union bile from the usual suspects.
Its no coincidence that unionised jobs have better terms and conditions than non unionised, but never let the facts get in the way of prejudice, if you don’t want to join a union don’t, but don’t winge and moan about the 75 hour week you’re doing for the same money as drivers on unionised companies get for 44 hours, and for pete’s sake stop counting your night out allowances as part of your take home pay, no wonder the job still pays peanuts for so many.
But the ones who really get my goat are those work for good companies with proper union recognition, they won’t join the union yet have no trouble trousering the pay rise they’ve had every single year negotiated by the stewards and correctly voted on by the dues paying members…and in keeping up half wit lorry driver tradition, moan about it too.
Juddian:
But the ones who really get my goat are those work for good companies with proper union recognition, they won’t join the union yet have no trouble trousering the pay rise they’ve had every single year negotiated by the stewards and correctly voted on by the dues paying members…and in keeping up half wit lorry driver tradition, moan about it too.
Used to boil my ■■■■ when I and about 8 others from a 150 strong unionised workforce could be bothered to drag our sorry arses out of bed on a Sunday morning to attend a union meeting where we were voting on the latest pay deal. We would get ALL members an x% pay rise which they’d happily take whilst still ■■■■■■■■ that it wasn’t enough!
I campaigned unsuccessfully for a long time for the rise to only apply to those who either attended the meetings, had a ■■■■ good excuse why they didn’t or actually were union members. 