Right, okay Barry, you’ve asked so yee shall receive, but be warned, you probably won’t like it
.
Now I can’t speak for anyone else because I’m not them, but personally I can’t be arsed with it all. Harsh but true. The reason for this is because so many others have started campaign’s/whatever to get things changed and absolutely
all has happened, so why is it going to be any different this time around? It isn’t as if you’re campaigning for anything new is it?
I’ll guarantee you now that MP’s - nor the public - couldn’t give a hoot that we haven’t got anywhere decent to get a wash at the end of the day, nor the fact that a bog standard meal at an MSA costs a tenner and tastes like it’s a week old and has been kept warm under a light for same length of time, and neither the fact that we’re driving 44 tonners around for £6/hr. As soon as your letter arrives on their door mat they’ll open it, read the first line, groan and then screw it up and chuck it in the nearest bin. To them you’re just another unheard of ‘nobody’, regardless of what lengths you’ve gone to to try and make this particular campaign ‘work’.
Before you or anyone else decides to start a ‘let’s sort this industry out’ campaign, the first thing you need to address and sort out is the camaraderie between the drivers in this country. It’s currently non-existant and has been for the past x number of years. Until we all stand together, work together, fight together and kill off this ‘I’m alright Fred’ attitude, absolutely NOTHING will change
.
Although I would personally support Johnny’s idea regarding the fee for the smart cards and vote strongly against it (I’m a Yorkshireman after all and don’t pay for nowt unless there’s no way round it …
), I think that getting sufficient backing for that too will prove difficult as drivers just can’t be arsed and hope that someone else will sort it all out for them (me included if I’m honest, although there’s money at stake here so I would get off my arse and support it
).
The industry in this country as a whole has long gone past the point of no return, especially when you read stories of eastern European countries doing full artic loads from ■■■■■■■ to Poland for £600.
As harsh as it may be to take in, we had our chances long ago to do something about and we all sat about on our arses expecting someone else to sort it out so we’ve only got ourselves to blame when we’re no longer able to work in the industry because we can’t survive on £2/hr like the Poles (for example) are working for, and have to find employment elsewhere in another sector.
Furthermore as we’re talking about the state of the industry, whilst I don’t personally welcome the continual price hikes on fuel, I do welcome it upon the haulage industry and look forward to seeing overall haulier running costs increasing even more, believe it or not. ’ Why is this?', you are wondering, ‘has he gone off his head?’. No, not at all, but it will put all the
-pot hauliers and 99% of owner drivers who are trying to make a living from running artics about in this country illegally (ie. the majority) at £1.20/mile (and below) out of business which is one of the things this country needs to start to bring around half-decent rates.
There are too many wagons for the amount of work available in this country and that results in the haulage companies thinking, ‘well I’ll do it for 60p per mile then at least it’s earning something rather than sitting unused in my yard earning nothing’.
