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Now I can't afford my life
Page 28
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I write regarding the WTD and ask our politicians— what have you done to us?
We've read all we can about it and to be honest feel that land many others have been stuffed.
Nearly sixteen years ago, a letter was sent to our school explaining the Young Drivers Scheme (YDS), and my eyes lit up.
Yes, I could do what I had always wanted and drive HGVs before I reached 21.
Lorries have always been in our family and! thought the scheme was great.
Now with over fifteen years' employment at Turners (Soham) I am a well respected employee and drive one of the new Scania Topline trucks and still love my job.
So life is good; I have a wonderful wife, two great kids (both aged under 3),a lovely home, a great job and a cracking truck.Then along comes the WTD.
I don't complain about the long hours as these pay for our great life and great holidays, but now with the WTD it looks like pay cuts are on the way. So we all have more time with our families but can't afford to do anything other than watch the bills start mounting up.
And I really can't see a way that we can earn the same as we do now, as to afford this our employers would have to put the price of haulage up. But all that would do is put the prices of everything up, from beans to cars to clothes and soon. So then everybody needs a wage rise and in turn we as truck divers need another rise as all our bills have gone up again.
So! think it's really unfair that Europe decides what we can earn — if we want to do the hours, why can't we? Surely it would have been fairer to allow us to opt out and say how many hours we wanted to do? Where are all the extra drivers corning from to cover what we can no longer do? Or is this the government's brainwave to decrease unemployment?
When Tony Blair said he would find j obs for all, didn't realise he was giving them mine!
Steve Hobbs Stanwick Northants