Keep this one simple - if HGV driver from Europe, would you come to help out on a 3 months contract?

I don't know if I have already mentioned this and I know I have a tendency to go off on a tangent but so many many people in poorly paid professions (or from poor backgrounds) can even drive now. I have put all my children through driving lessons etc (except for those that cannot drive for obvious reasons) Here where I live it is at least £30 an hour per lesson and the people who teach you want you to have at least one double lesson a week. i think we were paying £64 a week for months at one stage for one of ours and I always took them out myself. That is a lot of money for someone on a low wage to find. I wouldn't have been able to do it when I was young. So through cost, we have lost other skills too.

Before I am had a go at, I have found employing drivers as support workers IMPOSSIBLE for years but much much more difficult now. Maybe it is regional but maybe it is outside of people's experience too. You cant get an HGV licence if you haven;t had the money to drive a car

FlexibleFriend

10 hours is a very long time to be driving but that's only part of the job, the other hours aren't limited.

Not sure if it was Grant Shapps or Boris who said the other day the time has come to address the real issue and pay people what they deserve. Driving a Hgv is a skill and should be recognised as such. If prices increase so be it, prices have remained static or reduced for such a long time. It's only since covid prices have started to rise it's got naff all to do with Brexit. We really should address the skills shortage in this country and train our own people to do the jobs rather than rely on other countries to train and supply our labour force.

"...Not sure if it was Grant Shapps or Boris who said the other day the time has come to address the real issue and pay people what they deserve"

So I guess those two idiots will be taking a massive pay cut then!

The point I was making that as there is a shortage of HGV drivers in UK, anyone without a permanent job will be able to get one nearer to home, with better pay, conditions, etc- and on longer contracts than 3 months. Mind you, we are now at the end of September, so the 3 months to Christmas seems a bit wobbly.

would anyone with half a brain give up a permanent job to come and earn a bit more for just 3 months and be sacked and sent home again? Makes no sense, no sense at all. Yes, supply and demand indeed.

Lots of people don't have permanent jobs to give up.
Lots of people don't have any income so what might be "a bit more" to one person could be a fortune to others.
They won't be sacked, they'll be on a contract.

I don't know if it will work or not, but I do know that we can all sit here and say "I wouldn't do it" but you don't know what other people are thinking or what their circumstances are.

MayBeMaw

It’s a lot of “ifs”though isn’t it?
If I were an HGV driver (Freelance or unemployed) and the rate being offered were significantly above what I could earn in my home country , then I suppose like the seasonal workers who have come to the U.K. in the past or contract workers anywhere, I might well take a 3 month contract for £20k+ (being one third of the wages quoted) I suppose I might well think it worth my while. So a qualified Yes.
It’s down to supply and demand isn’t it?

Yes, a lot of ifs. As there is a shortage of drivers in Europe, and conditions and salaries are much better- closer to home, no hassle at borders, etc - would anyone with half a brain give up a permanent job to come and earn a bit more for just 3 months and be sacked and sent home again? Makes no sense, no sense at all. Yes, supply and demand indeed.

MaizieD

No

Yet according to the radio just now, there are no shortages of fuel in the UK.

OH GAWD! Read the other threads on this.

(Sorry Kali2)

There are no fuel shortages for goodness sakes, only the specialised drivers to deliver to some places. No problems in my area, seems back to normal.

It’s a lot of “ifs”though isn’t it?
If I were an HGV driver (Freelance or unemployed) and the rate being offered were significantly above what I could earn in my home country , then I suppose like the seasonal workers who have come to the U.K. in the past or contract workers anywhere, I might well take a 3 month contract for £20k+ (being one third of the wages quoted) I suppose I might well think it worth my while. So a qualified Yes.
It’s down to supply and demand isn’t it?

MayBeMaw

Kali2

42 NO

8 YES

1 depends

Small anecdotal sample, but seems quite clear.

Bearing in mind the statistical sample was taken from
1) mostly over 55’s if not over 65/70’s
2) women

Hardly a representational cross section of potential HGV drivers!

But your forgot to say, Yes or No - if it was you?

Yes there are shortages of lorry drivers in europe (Times today)but this is not affecting deliveries of food etc.Because of the single market they do not have to spend hours on all the post-Brexit customs, veterinary inspections and delays. They can recruit drivers from anywhere within the EU so can draw on a huge pool of drivers, working internationally. They are not held back by the tight post Brexit restrictions on the number of deliveries European drivers can make.Why should they want to come here ??Expensive parking, poor facilities, expensive and badly cooked food and not feeling welcome

No.

NO…it’s typical of this bunch of idiots that they would propose such a ridiculous thing…who wants to dig a load of irresponsible idiots out of the sh*t and then be out of a job on Christmas Eve?!

Do you ever wonder if you've just wandered into a parallel universe?

Can't be just me.

Kali2. It would save millions in crdit/benefit payments and create future revenue from tax and NIC. It would also assist mental health issues.

Thisismyname1953

There is only a temporary problem with BP getting fuel to a couple of filling stations and the media have caused a panic over it .
There is a shortage of of HGV drivers in Europe too . This is not caused by brexit. Why is the government being blamed for all this media frenzy? If people don’t want to be HGV drivers ( here and in Europe) they don’t have to . The companies employing them need to pay better with better working conditions .

A couple ??
Friend of mine drove round four filling stations at 6.30 a.m. on Monday before finding Sainsbury’s had just had a delivery.

Sorry to repeat myself...

They don't have to be from the EU.

Is it just me?

Plain and simple. to the point

'Dutch HGV driver says that EU workers will not go back to "help UK out of the s**t they created themselves"

Kapitan

No! I would make sure all those on Universal Credit and other benefits were trained to do the job instead of doing nothing.

And how long do you think that would take? Especially as a large proportion would have never driven a car, never mind a lorry or HGV with hazardous materials? Do you think that will 'save Christmas 2021' !

There is only a temporary problem with BP getting fuel to a couple of filling stations and the media have caused a panic over it .
There is a shortage of of HGV drivers in Europe too . This is not caused by brexit. Why is the government being blamed for all this media frenzy? If people don’t want to be HGV drivers ( here and in Europe) they don’t have to . The companies employing them need to pay better with better working conditions .

MayBeMaw

Kali2

42 NO

8 YES

1 depends

Small anecdotal sample, but seems quite clear.

Bearing in mind the statistical sample was taken from
1) mostly over 55’s if not over 65/70’s
2) women

Hardly a representational cross section of potential HGV drivers!

Indeed.

And yet, it seems to be confirmed by comments from HGV drivers all over Europe. Did you hear what the Dutch HGV driver said ;) ?

NO!

No! I would make sure all those on Universal Credit and other benefits were trained to do the job instead of doing nothing.

NO!

No.
Does anyone else think that this is 'planned' by the government because they can make people stay at home without saying that we are in lockdown! They certainly aren't in a rush to send the army in with the tankers to replenish stocks..... They just remain on standby.

A great deal of the problems arising from lack of HGV drivers is highlighted now, because of the selfish nature of people in the present fuel situation. If only people would carry on as they would normally do, and pay no heed to the "Media", which incites this sort of outlandish behaviour on a gullible public.

You have only yourselves to blame for the present situation and not the Government.

Kali2

42 NO

8 YES

1 depends

Small anecdotal sample, but seems quite clear.

Bearing in mind the statistical sample was taken from
1) mostly over 55’s if not over 65/70’s
2) women

Hardly a representational cross section of potential HGV drivers!