newmercman:
It’s a crazy situation, we need a car and a phone, internet connection, grocery shopping, blah blah blah, so we can go to work to earn money to pay for all this crap that we wouldn’t need if we never went to work in the first place, we’re slaves, but we don’t realise it
Richard Briers and Felicity Kendall had the right idea in the Good Life, looking at it I don’t think that would be such a bad idea, especially if the missus has an arse like Felicity Kendall
Felicity Kendall a right cracking looking girl!! well she was way back then
There’s a simple reason why drivers’ wages are what they are, and that is that we live in a free market economy where wages are determined by the law of supply and demand.
I went on strike back in the '70’s for £1 per hr…we got it, pretty dam quick…
The truck drivers today are one of the most powerful work forces in the country…if they stopped work for a week, the country would be at a standstill, it would effect every individual, there would be no food, fuel, imports or exports…nothing.
Unfortunately, it’ll never happen, because they won,t stick together, they are they’re own worse enemy…
What the Brit’s are good at, is moaning and ■■■■■■■■ about it, but not getting off their arses and doing anything.
Whilst I agree with your underlying sentiments, I thought your post was a little hypocritical. You seem to blame everyone else and and call people moaners and bitchers…which is moaning and ■■■■■■■■ as far as I can see.
Anyway, ok, I`m with you on this. What do we do now?
You can be the leader of the revolution.
Tell us what to do and how we organise a week long stoppage, and I`ll be with you all the way.
Or are you expecting someone else to do it? I can`t do it because I have no idea at all how such a stoppage could be organised.
This old chestnut has been around for 40 yrs that I know of.
Harry Monk:
There’s a simple reason why drivers’ wages are what they are, and that is that we live in a free market economy where wages are determined by the law of supply and demand.
Yeah, we heard you the first time…
Re: Why do lorry drivers put up with low pay
Post by Harry Monk » Thu Feb 20, 2014 4:35 pm
The bottom line is that lorry driver wages are determined by the Law of Supply and Demand
newmercman:
It’s a crazy situation, we need a car and a phone, internet connection, grocery shopping, blah blah blah, so we can go to work to earn money to pay for all this crap that we wouldn’t need if we never went to work in the first place, we’re slaves, but we don’t realise it
Richard Briers and Felicity Kendall had the right idea in the Good Life, looking at it I don’t think that would be such a bad idea, especially if the missus has an arse like Felicity Kendall
Harry Monk:
There’s a simple reason why drivers’ wages are what they are, and that is that we live in a free market economy where wages are determined by the law of supply and demand.
There’s no denying there’s an element of truth in that Harry but when workers are being manipulated by moving large scale populations of workers from countries that have been operating at a much lower cost base than,for example, UK PLC, then transferring them here under the banner “free movement” is nothing less than greedy and dishonest. The unacceptable face of capitalism will bring little but bad news to working people all over the world in years to come.
Harry Monk:
There’s a simple reason why drivers’ wages are what they are, and that is that we live in a free market economy where wages are determined by the law of supply and demand.
Yeah, we heard you the first time…
Re: Why do lorry drivers put up with low pay
Post by Harry Monk » Thu Feb 20, 2014 4:35 pm
The bottom line is that lorry driver wages are determined by the Law of Supply and Demand
newmercman:
It’s a crazy situation, we need a car and a phone, internet connection, grocery shopping, blah blah blah, so we can go to work to earn money to pay for all this crap that we wouldn’t need if we never went to work in the first place, we’re slaves, but we don’t realise it
Richard Briers and Felicity Kendall had the right idea in the Good Life, looking at it I don’t think that would be such a bad idea, especially if the missus has an arse like Felicity Kendall
Cant see you in the garden growing spuds somehow
Duh! As you know I’m married, no need for me to involve myself in anything other than tasting the finished product
Harry Monk:
There’s a simple reason why drivers’ wages are what they are, and that is that we live in a free market economy where wages are determined by the law of supply and demand.
There’s no denying there’s an element of truth in that Harry but when workers are being manipulated by moving large scale populations of workers from countries that have been operating at a much lower cost base than,for example, UK PLC, then transferring them here under the banner “free movement” is nothing less than greedy and dishonest. The unacceptable face of capitalism will bring little but bad news to working people all over the world in years to come.
I couldn’t agree more, and the worst thing is that people have been brainwashed into viewing a person as “racist” if they oppose immigration policy in any way, shape or form, when all immigration policy has done is to enrich the already rich at the expense of the working class, by driving down wages and driving up the cost of housing.
newmercman:
It’s a crazy situation, we need a car and a phone, internet connection, grocery shopping, blah blah blah, so we can go to work to earn money to pay for all this crap that we wouldn’t need if we never went to work in the first place, we’re slaves, but we don’t realise it
Richard Briers and Felicity Kendall had the right idea in the Good Life, looking at it I don’t think that would be such a bad idea, especially if the missus has an arse like Felicity Kendall
Cant see you in the garden growing spuds somehow
Duh! As you know I’m married, no need for me to involve myself in anything other than tasting the finished product
Very true im doing my bit for self sufficincy started my homebrewing. Best bet is the trots at worst alcohol poisioning
Euro:
… because drivers won’t join a union
… because drivers won’t join a union
… because drivers won’t join a union
Euro the demographics have changed. Certainly in the private sector people now have no idea how a union can help in restoring their “RIGHT” to a healthy living wage. It is not just a “PRIVILAGE” ultimately it is a persons individual choice.
Roverman:
This is a serious question, why do we put up with such low wages? I am working for £8.26 an hour (not through choice!) which is NOT the worst around the central belt in Scotland. 10 or12 years ago that was a good wage, now, it barely keeps the wolf from the door.
(Incidentally, my 12 year old daughter just asked me what I was doing on the computer and I told her the question I was posting, her reply was “Isn’t it because it’s such an easy job Dad?”)
Public perception of our industry is obviously as crap as ever…
Are you driving an c/e or an c for that wage, 7.5 tonne rates
Euro:
… because drivers won’t join a union
… because drivers won’t join a union
… because drivers won’t join a union
]
Didn’t do the miners, steelworkers and printers much good did it
If we (westerners) did strike, we’d all get [zb]ed off and replaced by cheap imported labour, if we joined forces with the cheaper at the moment EEs, they’d ■■■■ them off too and go to third world countries to import labour
Harry Monk:
There’s a simple reason why drivers’ wages are what they are, and that is that we live in a free market economy where wages are determined by the law of supply and demand.
There’s no denying there’s an element of truth in that Harry but when workers are being manipulated by moving large scale populations of workers from countries that have been operating at a much lower cost base than,for example, UK PLC, then transferring them here under the banner “free movement” is nothing less than greedy and dishonest. The unacceptable face of capitalism will bring little but bad news to working people all over the world in years to come.
I couldn’t agree more, and the worst thing is that people have been brainwashed into viewing a person as “racist” if they oppose immigration policy in any way, shape or form, when all immigration policy has done is to enrich the already rich at the expense of the working class, by driving down wages and driving up the cost of housing.
Firstly there are two types of capitalism there’s the Fordist type in which the economy works for everyone and there’s the regressive corrosive exploitative type of Capitalism that’s not much different to the worst aspects of socialism/communism to the point where there’s not much that seperates the two.Which as we’ve seen has resulted in what is effectively an alliance of that regressive type of Capitalism and Communism.
The naivety and gullibility of the working classes is unbelievable in that regard in that it’s happy to listen to both the bs socialist agenda of uniting and integrating the world’s different cultures and the wrong type of Capitalism that’s taking advantage of that bs socialist line by calling anyone who stands against the scam ‘racist’.
Make no mistake what we’re seeing and are in the midst of is a combination of that worst hijacked form of so called Capitalism,which is really closer to Communism,and Communism itself.Which is all about a few people getting ( very ) rich by the underpaid efforts of the many in a rigged labour market at best or just effectively slave labour sweatshops at worse.It’s obvious that the situation can only be changed democratically and the way to identify the scammers in government from the genuine Capitalists is by listening out for the key words Fordist economic system as opposed to the status quo of a so called Capitalist one that’s in reality just a sell out to Communism.
Santa:
As an ex driver and an ex TM I have seen it from both sides. I certainly remember the strike for £1 and hour, and I remember the inflation that this and other strikes caused. (I know it was not THAT simple but they were a major factor)
I believe there are two primary reasons why drivers get a low hourly rate (as opposed to ‘take home pay’):
To train a reasonably competent car driver to drive a 44 tonne artic takes about three or four weeks.
The nature of most driving jobs means working (in the sense of being paid for) long hours. Bosses do not like paying anyone to sleep on his bunk, even though it’s not anything under there control. In the last twenty years of my driving career, I doubt if I averaged more than six hours actual work a day, while being paid for twice that.
Which seems to miss the fact that inflation is price led not wage led as the present state of the economy,in which weak unions have resulted in prices outrunning wages,proves.
While,as you’ve said,the productivety issue isn’t the driver’s problem it’s more one of the fact that road fuel costs mean that it’s effectively uneconomic to run freight by road over sufficient distances to make the tonne/mile figures add up.Therefore not surprisingly you end up with the situation of drivers sitting around when the wagon should be running.Which leaves the choice of either cutting the hourly rate or only paying drivers for miles run.The actual amount available in wages being the same in either case.
newmercman:
Didn’t do the miners, steelworkers and printers much good did it
No, but on the other hand it hasn’t done the train drivers, ticket collectors/guards and those who stand on the barriers at Underground stations doing absolutely nothing whatsoever any harm. Virgin Trains drivers are on well over £40k basic for a four-day week one of them told me!!
In this fantasy world where drivers all join a union and stick together what would be the result? Would it go the way of the miner or the way of the train driver? The former, quite obviously. I doubt there are many Poles, Romanians and so on who could come across here and drive a train, but there is a million and one of them who can quite easily jump behind the wheel of an RHD truck.
Think virgin drivers now get £61000, freight company looking for drivers this week paying £51000 but it takes up to 18 months to train them against 2 weeks for class 1
