All I want for Christmas...
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J Maurice Gullis, driving for Spiers of Melksharn, Wilts put a new lorry at the top of his gift list. At the moment he drives a Y-reg ERF which he would cheerfully swap for a new EC14, with a night heater.
Xmas time off: Three days plus the bank holidays.
1=1 Clive King driving for Nolan Transport of New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland, was passing through on his way to Holland. King also favoured a new vehicle for Christmas, with a Mercedes 1748 being his first choice. Failing that a holiday in the sun ("Australia would do"). P,erhaps not strictly transport related, but you need transport to get down under, so we let him have it. His firm "more or less" closes down over Christmas,
Xmas time off: Two weeks
Li Bill Green, driving for British Telecom, leaned out of the cab of his Leyland Daf 85 360 to tell us that he would like a new set of door rubbers for his car, a Mercedes 280 SL. "They're rather expensive," he explained.
Xmas time off: Bank holidays plus one week of his holiday allowance. L1 Mark Carter, driving a reefer for Reed Bordall, would like a ticket to Ireland where his son lives—or failing that, a new Volvo FH12. He drives a Mercedes 1835 but, being tall, would appreciate the extra room in the FH12 cab. He works a rolling week and only expects to be off on Christmas Day
Xmas time off: One day
Li Craig Mountain and Darren Goring were delivering publications for Media Max of Batley, Yorks. We came across these two young drivers parked up alongside each other. Both drive Iveco Ford Cargo 7.5-tonners and would opt for new vehicles, given the chance. Darren isn't so bothered what the truck is, as long it has a night heater and is an artic (he is due to take his Class 1 soon) but Craig has his heart set on a Mercedes with double bunks. Newspapers only stop printing on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve so time off is limited.
Xmas time off: Christmas Eve (Sunday) and the bank holidays.
Li Alan Nicholson of Penrith, Cumbria was the only owner-driver we encountered during our survey and naturally his dream Christmas present had a different focus to the employed drivers: "I would like the customers to pay!", he declared firmly, He was on his way back from Denmark making a delivery to Milton Keynes and had plenty to say about poor rates for return loads. "I've been an owner-driver for five years and have not • had a rate increase in three." He would like a similar system to Holland where Dutch hauliers receive a minimum rate of .C1.30/km. The increase in UK fuel duty also makes him angry: "The Government can't expect us to keep absorbing the cost," he said with feeling.
Xmas time off: Two days at Christmas, two days at New Year.
J Richard Lingwood, driving a low loader for Norwich construction firm May Gurney, would simply like more money. "I'm not on bad money but it's not brilliant for the hours we do," he said. He earns an average £350 to £400 a week for 60-70 hours work and reckons that drivers should earn £6 an hour, on a par with rates paid in other industries: "It's not a lot, considering the unsociable hours," he pointed out. However, he does get five weeks holiday a year under the agreements of the Building and Civil Engineering Pay Scheme and Regulations. When we met him he was waiting patiently for police to clear a route so that he could take his load of heavy machinery into central London.
Xmas time off: Two weeks.
U Martin Lawrence drives for Deadman, a general haulage outfit from Leicester. He would settle for more time off work: "We just get Christmas Day and Boxing Day," he said. The company gives two weeks paid holiday a year and allows drivers to take additional unpaid leave.
CI Chris Arkell driving for Bartrums of Eye, Suffolk, made a relatively modest request. He would like a digital tacho checker. "It calculates all your driving hours," he said. Then, as an afterthought, he decided on a new lorry as well; a Volvo FH12 to replace his current Volvo FL. Fair enough, but it's going to need a big stocking.
Xmas time off: Bank holidays plus three days booked out of his holiday entitlement.
Dennis Nelson, driving for retailer John Lewis, is another driver in the "more money" camp. When we met he was delivering goods from the Stevenage warehouse to Peter Jones, the retailer's flagship London department store. Dennis earns about 1:300 a week and his Christmas would be made by a modest 33% rise to £400 a week. Alind you, he is happy with the perks he gets as a "partner" (no employees at John Lewis) in the John Lewis Group. These include a 25% discount on most goods, a 12% discount at Waitrose supermarkets and an annual bonus, based on profits. No wonder Dennis has been with the partnership 16 years. He gets 25 days annual leave but very little at Christmas, because it is retailing's busiest period.
Xmas time off: Bank holidays only