Driving agency owner Martin Cornwall wants to see improvements to
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the driver's lot by teaming up with other agencies to raise standards and set decent rates for the job
• If you want to sound off about a road transport Issue write to features editor Patric Cunnane or fax your views (up to 600 words) to liduelarke on U181652 fia.
Having been in the transport industry for 28 years as both driver and company owner, I know what it is like being on both sides of the fence. To my dismay I've just come across an advertisement for a well known fast food chain offering £5.50 per hour, plus meals and hours to suit. And to think a
breadwinner is only being offered this to haul a 38-tonne articulated vehicle all week. I feel ashamed to be in this LA, industry and only being able to cl offer appallingly low wages to E, professional drivers who have the ability to adapt to different 2' vehicles and working environments and have to work long hours just to provide a
minimum wage. 0 We as a company are proud of the quality of service we provide E and have excellent staff who provide our customers with a reliable service. However, unless something changes within the industry, road haulage, which after all keeps this country moving, will suffer irreparable damage, if not collapse, as there is a massive shortage of HGV drivers due to the low wages and the high training charges of getting your Class 1 licence.
This is why two and a half years ago my company, Specialized Driving Force, could see a situation where there would be a shortage of HGV drivers throughout the industry, so acting promptly in order to address the lack of drivers for our large customer base throughout the South-East, we decided to set up our own in-house HGV training school to upgrade our own drivers to HGV driving standards at affordable prices.
We already employed two fully qualified driving instructors so this step was quite straightforward. Over the past year, by word of mouth alone, some of our main core customers have heard of our training programme and used our services. HGV. Hiab, forklift and PSV driver training is available to all our existing customers at very competitive prices.
I am now interested in talking to other agencies because the way forward is to move as one body in order to raise the driving standards and rates as we provide an essential part of the transport industry.
We need everyone concerned to get together and to agree a rock bottom rate for drivers. I believe this should be in the region of £6 an hour. It seems ridiculous to me that I have blue-chip companies all over the South-East who are struggling to employ drivers and even find agency drivers.