Tanker Drivers

alleycat`

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Do you have any idea of just how utterly wrong you are?

Semi skilled? No other qualifications other than a HGV licence?

I agree there is more to it than the flippant "just drive the truck" but they are pretty well paid for what they do.

stewil18

ILW wrote: »

Is the level of skill required higher than any other tanker driver?

yes, you have to be qualified to transport different materials, driving is only one part of the job

Itismehonest

ILW wrote: »

I would suspect they have taken a cue from the tube drivers. When TFL bent over and gave them just what they wanted, it started the ball rolling with one union trying to prove they could be as hard as the next.

A quick google of "Unite threatens strike" is revealing.

auroan

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Do you have any idea of just how utterly wrong you are?

Semi skilled? No other qualifications other than a HGV licence?

You need an ADR license (which is a 4 day course), C+E and CPC.

Compared to other careers paying £45K, that's f3ck all of a requirement. I did all that in less than two weeks with the Terratorial Army. So the previous post wasn't "that" far off.

Graham_Devon

alleycat` wrote: »

I agree there is more to it than the flippant "just drive the truck" but they are pretty well paid for what they do.

Yep, I'd agree the pay is worthy of the job.

kabayiri

Starbrite wrote: »

...
Also the risk of being hijacked as fuel prices go up
...

I'm interested to know how you hijack a tanker?

It's obviously doable, but there are a number of issues. Unless you want to spend hours syphoning the contents out you'd have to steal the whole truck. Won't these things be fitted with trackers?

If safety is the key concern, then design changes to the cab will prove more reassuring than an extra few quid in the pay packet.

If tanker drivers get their demands, why shouldn't drivers carrying hazardous chemicals or valuable raw materials?

FTBFun

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Do you have any idea of just how utterly wrong you are?

Semi skilled? No other qualifications other than a HGV licence?

Well i'm not utterly wrong! But I'll concede i'm slightly off!

bugslet

Good question! If you notice most tankers are day cabs, so don't park up overnight, though they will have to park up for the 45 minute breaks. I would imagine that would be the time it would be possible to hijack a vehicle, or potentially at the delivery point.

I would expect they are fitted with trackers, most trucks are. I think the possibility of hijack is limited. We carry explosives and being hijacked is something we have a concern over, but take appropriate measures to reduce the possiblity. I would imagine fuel tankers take similar precautions.

As to if they are worth 45k a year, and not all tanker drivers are on that, I'd argue that they are worth an enhanced pay to reflect the additional training ( ADR license and tanker operation) and the element of danger, but in comparison to the rest of the industry, that is a very high level of pay. I'd prefer to see the lower end of the pay brackets move up ( and I say that as a haulier!). The last driver we took on worked for a large company, whose trucks you will spot on any motorway, for the princely sum of £7.40 an hour. I think that is a ridiculously low wage.

ILW

Still no wiser as to what they are specifically asking for.

pararct

I do believe the salary figures being banded about the potential maximums.
48 hour weeks and shift patterns which will include very unsociable hours and full weekend working.
Once you strip out the overtime payments it is not that out of the ordinary for the industry.