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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. TruckNet's Rikki Chequer looks back on 2008.
Page 9
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Well, it's nearly another year over in the life of TruckNet UK. It has been a turbulent 12 months for the industry, and this has been reflected in the posts made on the forums.
At the beginning of the year, popular topics included the variety of work available, with drivers looking to improve their working lot by changing jobs.
Now, we are seeing many posts from drivers being laid off. The public posting of available jobs has nearly dried up, and forum users seems to be hunkering down to get through the downturn as best as possible.
This change in emphasis is no more apparent than in the discussions about remuneration. An ad for a job paying less than £7 per hour would have been met with scorn and derision at the start of the year — now it attracts comments such as "take what you can" and any job is better than no job".
But 2008 has not been all doom and gloom. The members of the East Coast Truckers Convoy brought their own brand of humour to the forums, sharing with us the magical days they provide for disadvantaged kids in their area While TruckNet UK chooses not to adopt a campaigning role, other drivers' websites that do so continued to push hard in 2008. Truckersworld gained meetings with Government departments and ministers to raise the issues affecting dryers. The FDA (Professional Drivers Association) continued to boost the profile of the HGV driver, as well as try to achieve solutions to the problems faced by many in the industry, And in the new year, the FDA will be starting an initiative to provide the industry with a charitable benevolent fund aimed at assisting professional drivers who have suffered misfortune — something that should have happened a long time ago.
Finally, it's worth saying that we at TruckNet UK haven't stood still either. The forums have grown dramatically — and to cope with the higher traffic levels, they'll be upgraded. TruckNet UK remains free to register and use.
Happy Christmas and a prosperous new year to you all from everyone at TruckNet UK.