Drivers' pay hit as running costs rise
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Few drivers are likely to get an increase in their basic pay this year, with hire-and-reward haulage costs increasing by an average of 3.7% in the 12 months to the end of September.
A Road Haulage Association survey into 75 hauliers cited the devaluation of the pound and diesel price rises as the main contributors to increased costs: insurance costs also rose by an average of 29%.
If drivers do receive any pay increase it is likely to come in the form of benefits like overnight-subsistence, says RHA director of operations, Tim Inman. "I don't think there will be much if anything on offer from employers as far as wages go," says Inman. "If you cast your mind back to the beginning of this year there was a fair amount of optimism for 1992... but there certainly isn't the same confidence now."