John Curtis poor rates forced him out of owning a truck
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depending on nights out. Although working "more hours than ever", he has not received a pay rise for 18 months. He has been with Burroughes for 15 years and an HGV driver for 33 years. He is a United Road Transport Union member, but the union is not acknowledged.
John Tucker takes home between £180 and £200 for a 60-hour-week at Dent's Transport, Kings Lynn. His pay has recently increased 4.5% and, although two or three drivers' jobs have been shed from a total of about 80, he feels his is secure. He has been a TGWU member for 15 years and has worked for Dent's since becoming an HGV driver 18 years ago.
Carl Hood works for magazine distributor D Mortimer of Milton Keynes and collects £220 for 65 hours (25 of them overtime). He won a 6% pay rise last year, although he is working 10 hours a week more. He is in the TGWU — "you've got to be in this job".
Ian Smith has been on the books of Leicester driving agency Ecco since being made redundant from haulage firm Alexander Stone last year. He is currently driving for Christian Salvesen and takes home £180 for a 40 to 48-hour week — his pay depends on the customer. However, he does not know whether he will have a job from week to week. He is in the TGWU but says it makes little difference working for an agency.
Ian Gore earns between £230 and £240 with Bamber Bridge-based Dairy Products Transport. He works six days one week; five days the next, and 12 hours a day. He is in the TGWU and is due a 5.8% rise. The big advantage of his job, he says, is that he is paid hourly, while many drivers he knows are given a basic daily rate regardless of how long their day is. "That's unjust. Things aren't as bad working for a big company. I finished at midnight last night, because Tesco kept me waiting, but at least I'm paid for it."
Veteran John Curtis is not strictly speaking an employee driver. He has been an HGV licence holder 36 years, and owned a truck until poor rates forced him to sell last August and begin driving an X-reg Merc 1617 for Barry Ives Haulage of Sible Hedingham, Essex.
He is paid as a subcontractor, and accounts for his own tax. He earns about £175 a week — "terrible isn't it?" — and is paid by the job. "It's annoying when you get to the place and have to wait an