A fair day's wage?
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In this week's issue there are comments from six or seven operators about a fair day's pay (CM 19-25 Feb). It was interesting to see that an operator near where I live was offering a basic pay of ,C150 for 40 hours.
I am currently employed by a large UK multinational company which is paying me a basic pay of £160 for 40 hours. On our contract delivering building products around the UK there are a total of 13 vehicles, five of which are used on a regular basis for pulling drawbar trailers, yet there is absolutely no increase in our basic pay whether we drive an lveco Cargo 17-tonner, or a Volvo FL7 with a doubleaxled drawbar.
For the past two years I have been clocking up a ridiculous 63 hours a week while being away from home from 04:30hrs on a Monday until approx 14:00hrs on a Friday, spending two-and-ahalf days with my wife and family for an average takehome wage of £210 plus /65 a week tax-free expenses.
Yes, maybe 4275 sounds a lot to most people, but how many are prepared to get out of bed at 03:00hrs on a Monday to start 30 miles away at 05:00hrs and work until 19:00hrs, sleep in a mid, damp sleeper pod and then start again on Tuesday at 06:00hrs until about 1920:00hrs?
Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but it really annoys me to see employers griping on about the difficulties in finding good quality drivers. I'm fed up with making a big profit for the multinational I work for. If any of your readers are looking for an experienced drawbar driver with national/international experience they are welcome to get in touch—provided they are not offering silly wages.
David Driver,
Gateshead, Tyne & Wear