Tanker Drivers

bugslet

Copied and pasted from trucknet ILW:






As a Tanker Driver myself for the last 20 years, let me explain afew things. I have worked for the biggest oil company and now work for a major supermarket, delivering fuel to retail sites. This strike is about several things. WE are not asking for anymore money. I consider my self to be well paid (not the 45k as been broadcast). The problem is many years ago the drivers had the best training, decent pension and good T&Cs. Now this has all been taken away. Not to mention some contractors who now believe they can cut rates to gain a contract, paying the drivers less money to gain these contracts. Cutting back on training to gain these contracts. We all have kids etc and loved ones on the road, some of the guys i have saw TRYING to do this job with hardly any training is shocking. Some of which i have been banned from garages as the owner do not wish them back there as they are pretty much unsafe. Something needs to be done, we have been in talks for well over 2 years. The companys will not listen as profit is more important. We have moved with the times and have saw pay cuts and accepted them many years ago. I am not over paid, I give up alot of my social life and family time working all hours of the day and night including weekends and bank hols. I have saw many guys arrive to do this job and many fail, it takes a special type of guy to do this job, as it is so easy to mess up in some way or another, from loading to discharge. Company will not tolerate any so called balls up as it is always very costly. So in some cases 1 mess up and your out of a job.
We do not want to strike, we want to get back around the table and sort this out once and for all.


But now we’ve reinvigorated and rebranded our campaign. Called ‘Enough is Enough’, the campaign has four main points:

Terms and conditions

We are demanding minimum standards for all tanker drivers. A draft agreement has been drawn up by the union with the help of the oil trades sub-committee, and this is our starting point for negotiations. The agreement takes into account the anti-social working hours of tanker drivers, and demands additional premiums for working nights, early starts, or five days over seven.

Training

We want a standard of training that is at the highest quality across the board regardless of who we work for. We are demanding a passport system whereby all drivers must meet a minimum standard to get their ‘passport’ to drive a tanker, ensuring no individual without the appropriate training and necessary competence may carry out any operation within the industry. For example, if a driver has not been trained for petroleum spirit deliveries then they would not be allowed to deliver petroleum spirit; if they’re not trained on cargo pumps then they can’t perform pump work. Simplistic, but a sensible approach to keeping the industry standard up.

Health and Safety

We want a minimum standard for health and safety. This means that no driver could be made to feel under pressure to do something that they feel is unsafe or be put under pressure to rush the job. We should have a working environment that is as calm and relaxed as possible to ensure the safety of the driver and everyone else around them.

Pension

As a direct result of the contract ‘merry-go-round’, many drivers have fragmented pensions from multiple contractors. Every time a contract is up for tender and the "employer" changes, the previous pensions schemes are not transferred over. The union UNITE has for some time now been working tirelessly to get an industry standard pension that is portable so every time a contract is lost and gained the pension moves with the driver. This has benefits for all parties as the companies do not have the same admin costs and the drivers have one continuous pension throughout their career.

Norfolk_Jim

I'd like such a not out of the ordinary salary - I dont get half that and I have more qualifications than you could shake a stick at.
I spend my days educating the young who dont go to university. With hindsight I think I'd have chosen different qualifications.

I'd be interested to hear the safety concerns they have.

kabayiri

I think genuine issues around training and safety are legitimate and should be addressed.

Given the sheer value of a tanker load delivery the wage costs will be pretty low as a proportion. Recent governments have hiked up their tax take on fuel; perhaps they should provide training.

A slightly different point. Have you noticed how easy it is to create panic buying conditions across the nations' forecourts? This won't have gone unnoticed by campaign groups.

alleycat`

bugslet wrote: »

Copied and pasted from trucknet ILW:






As a Tanker Driver myself for the last 20 years, let me explain afew things. I have worked for the biggest oil company and now work for a major supermarket, delivering fuel to retail sites. This strike is about several things. WE are not asking for anymore money. I consider my self to be well paid (not the 45k as been broadcast). The problem is many years ago the drivers had the best training, decent pension and good T&Cs. Now this has all been taken away. Not to mention some contractors who now believe they can cut rates to gain a contract, paying the drivers less money to gain these contracts. Cutting back on training to gain these contracts. We all have kids etc and loved ones on the road, some of the guys i have saw TRYING to do this job with hardly any training is shocking. Some of which i have been banned from garages as the owner do not wish them back there as they are pretty much unsafe. Something needs to be done, we have been in talks for well over 2 years. The companys will not listen as profit is more important. We have moved with the times and have saw pay cuts and accepted them many years ago. I am not over paid, I give up alot of my social life and family time working all hours of the day and night including weekends and bank hols. I have saw many guys arrive to do this job and many fail, it takes a special type of guy to do this job, as it is so easy to mess up in some way or another, from loading to discharge. Company will not tolerate any so called balls up as it is always very costly. So in some cases 1 mess up and your out of a job.
We do not want to strike, we want to get back around the table and sort this out once and for all.


But now we’ve reinvigorated and rebranded our campaign. Called ‘Enough is Enough’, the campaign has four main points:

Terms and conditions

We are demanding minimum standards for all tanker drivers. A draft agreement has been drawn up by the union with the help of the oil trades sub-committee, and this is our starting point for negotiations. The agreement takes into account the anti-social working hours of tanker drivers, and demands additional premiums for working nights, early starts, or five days over seven.

Pension

As a direct result of the contract ‘merry-go-round’, many drivers have fragmented pensions from multiple contractors. Every time a contract is up for tender and the "employer" changes, the previous pensions schemes are not transferred over. The union UNITE has for some time now been working tirelessly to get an industry standard pension that is portable so every time a contract is lost and gained the pension moves with the driver. This has benefits for all parties as the companies do not have the same admin costs and the drivers have one continuous pension throughout their career.

Mostly what he is saying makes a certain level of sense.
There is a "race to the bottom" in quite a few industries at the moment (including the one i work in).

However, the pensions aspect and the unsociable working hours aspect explicitly are about more money.

To suggest otherwise comes across as disingenuous.

I agree that minimum standards should be applied to anyone driving a HGV with potentially hazardous goods but i was under the impression certain certifications had to be passed to qualify to do this already?

pararct

Norfolk_Jim wrote: »

I'd like such a not out of the ordinary salary - I dont get half that and I have more qualifications than you could shake a stick at.
I spend my days educating the young who dont go to university. With hindsight I think I'd have chosen different qualifications.

I'd be interested to hear the safety concerns they have.

The other side of the coin is you don't have to work continual weekends maybe 7 out of 8 with time off in the week nor start a shift at 3.00am in the morning. Nor be pulling heavy tackle around in freezing rain or shovelling snow off valve covers.

Horses for courses my friend.

If you are a teacher you may well get a very good holiday entitlement so as I say swings and roundabouts.

I used to work for Hoyers delivering fuel from a site close to Heathrow airport for around 17 years. I gave the job up as to be honest I didn't need the hassle which came with the job. At the time I was financially secure mortgage was paid off and it was affecting my health (I was in my mid 40's at the time). Today I something completely unrelated to driving and am very happy doing so.

I was delivering petroleum spirit to a garage in South London when I spotted a chap stood filling his car with a fag hanging out of his mouth, this used to occur quite often and the stress levels were grinding. On other occasions people would be stood filling their cars with their mobile phones stuck to their ears and look dumbfounded when you asked them to switch them off.

After these incidents I chose to close each and every fuel outlet I delivered to (whilst the delivery was taking place). This is in within the power of the driver. This of course didn't go down to well with the firm or retail outlets.

It is easy to sit back and criticise when you have never done or do not understand the job. Yes the job is very well paid but the effort in working hours and unsocial hours (and the detriment this will have on individuals health) has to be put in to achieve these levels.

lisyloo

I wouldn't want to work those hours, but if others think it's such a cushy number then the answer is simple is it? Retrain if you think anti-social hours and driving are where you want to be.

Itismehonest

I'm pretty sure that if any Health & Safety aspects have fallen to the level that has been implied that they would be breaking the Health & Safety at Work Act so a call to the relevant people would result in the employers being hauled across the coals.
Training is an issue which, again, is between the employer & employee, as are pensions.
I'm still waiting to see why Unite thinks that these complaints are enough to threaten to hold the country to ransom. Coming on top of all the other Unite threats - like disrupting the Olympics - I can only think this has more to do with politics than anything else.

StevieJ

pararct wrote: »

It is easy to sit back and criticise when you have never done or do not understand the job. Yes the job is very well paid but the effort in working hours and unsocial hours (and the detriment this will have on individuals health) has to be put in to achieve these levels.

Seems a recurring theme on these boards

ess0two

ILW wrote: »

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

Try a google search,or just keep asking the blindingly ignorant question.

ess0two

ILW wrote: »

How many tanker drivers have been blown up in the UK in the last 10 years?

Quite a few if you include RTA.