Is the EU making the same mistake with HGV drivers and cheap labour?

[@kjmack1000]

because the haulage industry is way over regulated.Too many people in suites telling you how to do a job they know nothing about

[@HermitGeek]

I've just gone onto a class 2 course funded by gov, they've got us doing weeks of all sorts of nonsense about wellbeing and how to look for work before even getting behind the wheel to learn. Aparantly this is to prove we are worth the funding. If there was a shortage, they would have us straight behind the wheel day one...

[@thetruckerseye]

@@HermitGeek OMG really? That makes it even worse! Let me know how it goes for you. I love to see new people coming into the industry. We've all been there!!!! Let me know if you ever need any advice or what not!

[@lordlucan7655]

The issue in Europe isn’t a shortage of drivers but a shortage of drivers who can drive

[@GeluEugen86]

Is not a driver shortage, is a shortage of companies wich pay decent ...

[@TheThejpmshow]

Road Haulage Asssociation What a waste of space

[@b34rdy]

Held my licence for 18 years now for class 1, left the job in 2020 and can tell you that no amount of money could tempt me back into driving trucks as much as i enjoyed driving trucks it was everything else that i hated, When i passed i was 21 and everywhere i went on agency (because nobody would touch a 21 year old with no experience) there was always remarks about my age etc because i looked about 13. i managed to get european work when i was 25 which was great and i didnt mind the long periods away because i had a good job but i lost a family member when i was away and my head was never in the right space to go back again. I came home and tried to get a job and that never happened so ended up on agency for years until i ended up delivering parcels in a van. i left that life behind and have put myself through my degree at uni and enjoy having somewhat of a life these days with no stress

[@thetruckerseye]

I enjoyed doing European work but it's not what it was these days, that is for sure! I remember going on the 'chunnel' as it was called back in the day. They had hostesses serving you free meals. Now it's just a terribly grotty train that reeks of stale body odour!

[@b34rdy]

@@thetruckerseye thankfully i only ever did the train once, that was enough for me. i luckily did event work abroad so always worked with a good bunch. probably the best job i had tbh

[@lewisjones7763]

@@thetruckerseyesorry to hear about your family member and you wernt able to there. And fair play for getting out the industry if you lost the love for it

[@JackOfski]

Was a class 1 driver from 1986 up till 2017, my first job at age 21 was 1 week delivering around Belgium, Holland, Germany and the 2nd week reloading from the same countries, now I did have 4 years of removals experience around the UK so I did know how to read a map but would love to see a new driver do the same today!!.. was asked to go back to my last company a few months ago but after thinking about sitting the dumb CPC again and what with cameras now being placed inside the cab thought better of it. Just one other thing, these so called drivers from India/Pakistan, well we have 1000s of them living in the UK and virtually NONE of them do truck driving??

[@lazylad8544]

Your right about the so called driver shortage. No shortage of food in supermarkets.

[@thetruckerseye]

@@lazylad8544 like I say in the video (and i used a bit of conjecture), if 20% of deliveries weren't getting made then the the shelves would empty very quickly. Non essential goods wouldn't be leaving warehouses!

[@DanielBeard-un2fg]

As a hgv driver myself, the wages are ok but where they should of been around 10 years ago really. I feel the biggest problem is the working conditions as a driver that needs to radically improve. Truck manufacturers are doing a great job in improving the workplace they offer drivers but the facilities we endear during the week are horrendous still. This industry has potential to be a good career to people don't the working conditions and rights of hgv drivers must improve.

[@boring4606]

I should change jobs and become a train driver. 81k a year for a 4 day week.

[@philsteele7151]

Having taken a C+E, why is a train driver paid more, all you need to do is stay awake, no motorists pedestrians cyclists, no tight spots no reversing navigating or handball.

[@dauntless1248]

Do established truck drivers in the UK feel some kinda way about new pass drivers?

[@-DC-]

More a decent job shortage than a driver shortage, Loads of Licence Holders have given up and gone into other roles.

[@medler2110]

The industry throughout Europe has cut the pay and conditions of the drivers in the industry, over regulated it and not bothered training drivers, so to get round this they get drivers from the poorer countries, putting more downwards pressure on pay and conditions and less incentive to train drivers then wonder why it can't attract drivers from their own countries. In the UK there is no shortage of HGV licence holders, even DCPC holders, but they've left the industry because of pay, conditions, micro managing, lack of roadside facilities and poor treatment at delivery points, especially those RDC's run for the Supermarkets. As far as I can work out the rot set in during the early 90's, companies who had own account fleets contracted them out to haulage companies, who undercut each other to get those contracts, the only way to make a profit on those rates is to cut pay and conditions, the last one being the tanker drivers, they were some of the best paid out there, getting onto tankers was a goal of many and once there it was a job until retirement, but the fuel companies wanted to cut the transport costs so contracted the work out to the usual suspects, with the usual cut costs to the bone. Drivers already in the industry stayed, but that was over 30 years ago most of them have retired and nobody came into replace them, why spend thousands on a licence for a job paying just above the minimum wage. By 2000 the RHA was already complaining of the industry being some 80,000 drivers short and they haven't stopped complaining since, but done sweet fa to address the issues, they come up with a few gimmicks, but I doubt 10% of the drivers attracted by that have stayed, as retention is as big of a problem as recruitment.

[@thetruckerseye]

@@medler2110 a very fair assessment and great post!

[@medler2110]

@@thetruckerseye I do some work for a German company, although I run mostly in the UK, but the other British driver mostly works in the EU, the company looked into getting him a visa as he struggled with the 90 day rule, but were told by the German authorities that there were German drivers who could do the job, yet they advertise that they want 3rd nation HGV drivers.

[@gravemind6536]

I have my class 1 and valid CPC but don't use it, I drive around in buses instead much less work for more money so there is no reason for me to even bother with 95% of the HGV jobs. Try finding a young white British Lorry driver there are hardly any about they all know it's a waste of their time, it's all Eastern Europeans and old geezers who are borderline retirement age or look like they're about to have heart attack.

[@midge225]

I recently lost my hgv 1 due to heart problems , i have a pacemaker and defib and can now only drive up to 7.5T , in the 3 yrs since my heart problems i have not had any more problems but dvla will not reinstate my hgv 1 licence , surely if something is going to happen to me whilst im driving it doesnt matter whether its a car a 7.5T or 44T the outcome will be more or less the same yet these eastern european drivers can come here without taking a uk test which is more dangerous i thinkl

[@dhenbhoy]

If you think the level of potential carnage that can be reached is the same in a car and a 44 ton truck... it's not.

[@TheThejpmshow]

I drive for a big supermarket Never a shortage of drivers in my experiences

[@gravemind6536]

The supermarkets actually pay a semi decent wage and home every night, they won't be short it's more the scummy general haulage side of things that have shortage issues.

[@conversemackem8653]

"Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheep, Cheep"? Trucker, you ain't half showing your age. 😂

[@thetruckerseye]

@@conversemackem8653 ahhhh, but how do you know about it being an old song??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@conversemackem8653]

@@thetruckerseye Because...... (wait for it)...... I'm old 😂😂😂😂😂👍

[@thetruckerseye]

​@@conversemackem8653haha. I used to be a DJ 😂😂😂😂

[@KeithBurnett-f1o]

Peasant

[@icabby3185]

Ok. I am a UK driver and i want to work in Europe but we cannot shift internally within the EU. so i need an EU sponsor to drive i enjoy the healthier time in EU but no joy in two years of looking. "But they are short of drivers" i like Romania and i see lots of Romanian trucks in the UK i have asked 5 companies over there but they use local drivers it seems to be a reward job for the drivers there to work outside of the country because the trucks are better maintained. the pay is not good for them either. in the UK my core hours have been cut and overtime limited so i am now on 15-20% less than i was two years ago. Here is the kicker i love my job driving is the best for my lifestyle. Its the machine driven timelines that are the pain.

[@thetruckerseye]

in a word, no! Self driving trucks are a lifetime away no matter what you see on youtube! As for looking at Romanian jobs, you probably have no chance unless you want to work for 30 euros per day. They probably won't even reply to a UK driver as they know there's no point! As I point out in the video, these companies are absolutely ecstatic that they can now employ even cheaper drivers from the likes of India and Pakistan. Have a Google and see what their HGV drivers earn, then you'll know why they are happy to go to Lithuania etc to earn a pittance there!

[@medler2110]

Why if you could work in the EU would you want to work for a Romanian company, when pay would be better working for a company based in many of the other countries? Also if you want to do European why don't you work for a UK company running to and from EU?

[@conversemackem8653]

BTW, a very insightful video m8 🤔

[@thetruckerseye]

@@conversemackem8653 thanks for saying so!

[@MADPowerGrid]

there is a driver shortage guys!! come on!!! but if you have class 2 experience and just passed your class 1 .....good luck finding a company to work for ... cause they all want 1-2 years of experience

[@thetruckerseye]

They do yes and that's a big problem. It's another good point to look at though. IF there was such a driver shortage then the Government would be involved in ensuring that new drivers would be able to drive in the form of surities of some kind. It's mad that insurance companies or transport companies will allow drivers from other countries with a pretty much uncheckable experience record drive in the UK, whilst new pass UK drivers aren't being allowed to get on the experience ladder

[@b34rdy]

I had that problem when i passed but also an age issue as i was only 21 and constantly got looked down upon from experienced drivers. after 12 years i stopped driving and havnt looked back.

[@thetruckerseye]

@@b34rdy im going to get a video done on this very subject. At my company they take on new drivers and it's great to see people starting out. I also enjoy helping them if they need advice or guidance.

[@eezergoode8588]

What I found passing my class 1 in spring of 2023 is that the only company that would hire me was haemorrhaging drivers because they were rubbish to work for. Getting past the 12 months mark made a huge difference.

[@gravemind6536]

There is no shortage of people to drive lorries, just a shortage of well paying jobs. I have to ask why would any young person look at HGV driving and think yeah I could do that? They can as much stacking shelves in Tesco or riding a FLT around a warehouse. I've also never seen a job where someone is disrespected as much an HGV driver. Trucking in the UK for the most part is pretty much legal slavery and I don't recomend anyone do it. The propaganda about being short of drivers to deliver fuel is nonsense it's the highest paying HGV work in the country, plenty who'll deliver for the supermarkets too it's the general haulage that's short because you have companies paying drivers a basic of £12-£14 an hour.

[@thetruckerseye]

@@gravemind6536 totally agree wirh everything there. Definately going to be doing a video on night out subsistence and compare it with other industries doing the same thing

[@lewisjones7763]

Rod Mckenzie is a clueless tosser 👍🏼

[@thetruckerseye]

@@lewisjones7763 He came from the media didn't he?

[@Arltratlo]

you mean banning people from other countries to drive trucks, like the UK did???

[@thetruckerseye]

@@ArltratloFree movement of labour from the EU stopped but the UK has never banned foreign drivers from driving trucks here. I've plenty of friends/colleagues who have started work driving trucks here in the UK and they have come from all over the world, even as far away as South Africa, Iceland and Somalia.