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Drivers' wages behind Unite's El 0/hr target
Page 7
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TRUCK DRIVERS in the UK earn an average of only .E8/hr, and are forced to supplement their basic pay by around 25% through overtime and bonuses.
According to a survey by Incomes Data Services and the Road Haulage Association (RHA), 27% of C+E drivers' and 21% of Class C drivers pay is currently made up of bonuses, shift and overtime premiums.
The figures also show those with a Cat C+E licence earn an average of ii8.091hr; those with a Cat C licence earn about i7.87/hr.
Only 3.7% of truck drivers come from ethnic minorities and only 1.6% are women, although this figure has doubled since 2006. A spokesman for the T&G section of union Unite says: "We still very much feel that f10/hr is the benchmark to aim for and given the responsibility and skill of the drivers this is not an unreasonable request."
However, Ruth Pott, director of employment affairs at the RHA, says that when overtime and bonuses are taken into account the average truck driver earns close to £24,000 a year, "which is quite a reasonable wage and above the national average".
"And if you look year on year, the median pay increase level for drivers was 4.5%," she adds. "And we would expect a further 3-4% rise in 2008."
Pott reports that the RHA is working closely with the likes of Skills for Logistics to try to raise the profile of the industry among women and ethnic minorities which is why these figures show slight improvements: "The evidence shows a lot of training is taking place and that road haulage is a good industry to be employed in."