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Wages cited for failure
Page 10
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11 Soaring wages for drivers are being blamed for the closure of West Midlands-based container specialist Jona Haulage.
Director Mick Jones says paying up to £600-a-week was not enough to retain most of the 15 drivers he employed two years ago.
"We've trained up a few young lads here and then they go and work for an agency which pays 110-215 an hour at the weekend.
"We stopped advertising for drivers in the end because it got to be
a joke. You would have them apply 10 and then they wouldn't turn up for the interview, it's getting to the stage where they're running the job.
We had four drivers at the end." Jona, based in Walsall, was founded eight years ago and originally specialised in international work.
It hit the headlines two years ago after being fined £54,000 for using a 1,500-litre fuel tank which Customs & Excise said was illegal because it was not the original fitted by the manufacturer. An appeal against the fine is still pending.
Jones says the switch to con tainer work made recruitment and retention of drivers more difficult even though overtime and night allowances could sometimes double their 1300-a-week basic wage.