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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

No

Petef

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!

PeteF - brilliant post, thanks. I wish - but somehow do not have much hope.

JaneJudge, this is so true, thanks.

usuallyright

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.

Errr! No! I'm not to blame for anything. I don't have a magically refilling petrol tank.

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!

? Quite!

The proof will of course be in the pudding

There's quite a lot of wishful thinking on here, also some logical thought.
As has been previously stated, there is a shortage of drivers in the EU: ergo - shortage means plenty of jobs available for any unemployed drivers in the EU. Since that is the case, why would any of them want to come to the UK for a couple of months, wasting time at the border between the EU and the UK and putting up with what, by all accounts, are appalling conditions for drivers.

In the EU they can cross borders quickly, there are decent facilities on the motorways with safe parking areas and they will be able to get home to their families rather more frequently than if they are stuck in the UK.

The govt are flogging a dead horse in trying to get European drivers to cone here.

sigh

Have I missed something? Seriously, have I?

Do they have to be European, as in EU?

Kali2

The proof will of course be in the pudding

“The proof of the pudding will be in the eating.”:Sorry but …..

Alegrias1

sigh

Have I missed something? Seriously, have I?

Do they have to be European, as in EU?

Such a common mistake!

Yes

I would tell them to get stuffed so NO

Lincslass

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.

OH, FGS!

I am well aware that there is no shortage of fuel in the UK. It has been exhaustively discussed on the other threads that there is a shortage of fuel where people actually need it to be.

That is, in the tanks under petrol stations ready to be delivered to the fuel tanks of the cars which need to have fuel in them in order to move along the roads. A zillion litres of fuel in a refinery storage tank is no use whatsoever to the motorist who needs it in their car's fuel tank.

Alegrias, I'm joining you in that parallel universe. The one where people understand why there is a shortage of fuel at the fuel pumps on garage forecourts...

Never a good idea to stereotype us women, MayBeMaw!

Does anyone remember Clara the long-distance lorry driver?

Her theme song summed up what a tough woman she was: ‘Long Distance Clara drives a juggernaut, way down the motorway to the busy port. Long distance Clara, nothing’s too far away. Picking up and dropping off, load after load.

Long Distance Clara, shifts the gears; Long Distance Clara, she safely steers. Long Distance Clara, slams on the brakes; Long Distance Clara, accelerates. Long Distance Clara driving round the bend. Hot dinner waiting at her journey’s end. Long Distance Clara, driving down the road…always on time and never late.

Long Distance Clara, well, she could drive across the Sahara....pole to pole, east to west; nothing's too far away for Long Distance Clara.

Any volunteers?

However did we manage for lorry drivers before 2004 when eastern european countries joined the eu?

Alegrias1

sigh

Have I missed something? Seriously, have I?

Do they have to be European, as in EU?

No, of course not - how about the Vatican City, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, the former Yugoslavian countries that aren't already members or maybe further afield?

MrsBoot

However did we manage for lorry drivers before 2004 when eastern european countries joined the eu?

Probably OK but back then, home grown lorry drivers were 17 years younger. One of the current problems is that many British drivers have reached retirement age.

We didn’t import as much stuff back in the 70s. We manufactured things like cars, washing machines, textiles, just about anything. Now we import 60% of food and buy cars , machinery and tons of other stuff from EU countries, that’s why more lorry drivers needed. Plus if it’s a case of “ we need to train up our own” why wasn’t this part of the long term Brexit plan? Or maybe there actually wasn’t a plan?

One of my grandfathers ran a haulage company. He didn't ever have an HGV licence, which was introduced in 1969. I'm not sure when artics were introduced on to our roads, but today's vehicles are nothing like those from even 20 years ago. More freight was carried by rail, so smaller lorries were just needed to take goods from the more widespread stations to their final destinations. Businesses didn't run on a "just in time" model, which requires vehicles to be flexible and carry large quantities.

Does that at least partially answer your question MrsBoot? Quite simply, the world has moved on since 2004.

Dinahmo

Alegrias1

sigh

Have I missed something? Seriously, have I?

Do they have to be European, as in EU?

No, of course not - how about the Vatican City, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, the former Yugoslavian countries that aren't already members or maybe further afield?

Not sure if this is being sarcastic or not...if not, apologies Dinahmo.

There are many places drivers could come from.

www.gov.uk/drivers-hours/aetr-rules