View Full Version : Tanker Driver Strike
'Poor' tanker drivers?
"A Unite spokesman earlier said the company's offer would have increased salaries from just under £32,000 to £36,000. He said the companies' £41,500 figure could only be reached if possible overtime was included"
Seems Unite keeps pointing out that Shell makes bumper profits, but seems to me that as Shell handed the contract for tanker drivers to an external company (Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport) what the heck's it got to do with Shell?.. At Shell's refinery in Stanlow, drivers held pickets, which read "Shell profits gush" and "Drivers' pay trickles". - again what's that to do with Shell?
I never knew these particular truck drivers were so well paid; "Driving a fuel tanker is a skilled and dangerous job," said Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, who joined the picket line at Stanlow, Ellesmere Port'.
I suppose all drivers of chemicals or drivers of buses with 50 living people on board is skilled too?
Come on you truck drivers who are on the Org; is £36,000 a typical wage for drivers? I know my son is a Class 1 'HGV' driver, but then he's only in Iraq, (got mortared on Wednesday, according to his latest E-bluey) and getting a lot less than £36,000...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7452033.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7452033.stm)
lots honest hard working people don't make anything near that. a £4000 increase in my income would do nicely.
Read that about last night about their pay now and pay offers, must admit it surprised me also !
I dont think they will win much public favour after knocking back that offer, I am all for a honest wage for the working man but thiink they are taking the you know what here.
percy toboggan
13-Jun-08, 18:02
Strange how when ordinary working folk manage to garner a good wage they are villified by their less fortunate contemporaries.
If I were driving a potential bomb, the retail value of which (one load) equalled my annual salary for the whole year AND I was doing it or one of the most profitable companies on earth then I would want a good salary too.
These guys are fortunate. As a truck driver who does not work hard, had very regular hours and is home every night I say this:
I earn slightly more than half the Shell contracted drivers salary.
I am every bit as 'skilled' a driver as they are.
I have driven tankers (Milk and Fuel) before and they are weird creatures - they handle differently and need special attention. Despite bulkheads the load MOVES - sloshes about and can have you over relatively easily.
Empty, a petrol tanker is almost as lethal as when full ( volatile vapour).
Recently (two years ago) a tanker driver drowned in fuel because he could not be cut out of his cab....(admitedly anecdotal but from a trustworthy source)
The guys will be paying tax at 40p. in the pound - working weekends on a rolling shift system nights/lates etc. They are hauling 35,000 litres at a time. Loading is hazardous. Delievering is hazardous. Fools don't do it. I tried for a while but stopped...not because I'm a fool..rather the opposite actually.
Just for once be glad that someone somewhere in this country of blatant excesses like city bonuses and extravagant weddings for footballers that honest, hard working 'ordinary' fellas (and the odd woman) are being paid a good wage for what they do.
Should give the rest of us hope...if nothing else.
As for soldiers...everyone is a volunteer...good luck to them, they have my utmost respect but nobody EVER becomes a soldier for the dosh. Most of 'em enjoy a scrap - fact.
percy toboggan
13-Jun-08, 18:29
drivers of buses with 50 living people on board is skilled too?
Indeed. They are almost as crucial as airline pilots...and their machines are far less sophisticated and prone to problems. Bus drivers are grossly undervalued by their employers, and society at large.
A good bus driver who works shifts should command a basic salary in the high £20k's in my opinion...sadly, in Britain..... they don't.
We cannot correct societies economic wage- ills and injustices by harping on about pay. Envy surfaces so often and comparisons with other industries are often spurious.
A good bus driver who works shifts should command a basic salary in the high £20k's in my opinion...sadly, in Britain..... they don't.
Percy, bus drivers on the Lothian Region buses do earn in the high 20k's
26k in fact see the following advert, but I would not like their job one little bit.
http://www.lothianbuses.com/jobs/?bus-drivers-1.html
As for soldiers...everyone is a volunteer...good luck to them, they have my utmost respect but nobody EVER becomes a soldier for the dosh. Most of 'em enjoy a scrap - fact.
I think thousands of soldiers would disagree with that statement. Yes they may volunteer but for some it's the only chance to earn a half decent salary and career. They fight on the front line with poor and inadequate equipment with the young guys not even getting half of what the tanker drivers get. On top of this they have to deal with an appalling admin system that very regularly fails to pay them correctly and have to what until they get home from getting shot at to sort it out. This is all while their family at home is struggling to pay bills.
So no I don't feel sorry for the tanker drivers.
RIP the 2 new casualties of the war on terror.
Percy
My whole point was not to point out the inequalities of payment for duty done - in my own instance, as an ordinary working man, I was driving a mere two and half thousand litres of water in a Fire Engine, praying the baffles would hold when I took a corner going through red lights, and yet still being entitled to free school dinners for my kids.. whilst some 'city' boy gets £200,000 bonus for shoving bits of paper about.
The mention of my own soldier son, yep, he's a volunteer and did not join for the dosh, it was purely an aside as to the incredible vagaries of pay, he was also driving 20 tons of explosives around Bosnia, which he relates as 'interesting'. "Most of 'em enjoy a scrap - fact.Indeed" well as a squaddie for 15 years I think you might be a wee bit off there Percy, but never mind.
I was not 'vilifying' anyone - and I 'aint a less fortunate contemporary either - that's a tad too strong, but showing surprise at the fortunate wage these guys get..
Seeing that these drivers do not work for Shell, how does any mention of this company come into the equation?
They certainly must be skilful as I don't recall any fires involving Tankers during my Fire Service period (apart from one absent-minded berk, who left a valve partly open and we were following his trail all over the West Mids).
I fully agree with your "We cannot correct societies economic wage- ills and injustices by harping on about pay. Envy surfaces so often and comparisons with other industries are often spurious."
The guys will be paying tax at 40p. in the pound
I don't think that can be right, percy, even if they do get a salary increase to £36K.
Currently the higher rate -40% -tax band starts at £36,001 precisely!
If anyone's interested have a look at what the country is saying:
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4953&edition=1&ttl=20080613200646
percy toboggan
13-Jun-08, 22:39
Re: 'Soldiers enjoy a scrap' - I reckon most combatative troops like Paratroopers and the Marines would fall into that category. Otherwise, why join the elite fighting forces of this country? I didn't mean hand to hand bar-room type scraps...I meant combat. I'd guess sixty per cent of their training is geared towards harvesting their innate aggression...a perfectly normal by-product of testosterone in post-pubescent males. I've never had much of it - aggression I mean, and so find it hard to comprehend what goes on in the minds of these worthy chaps.
The others who prefer remote killing with mortars and artillery may be different. The problem is you cannot choose who you kill. You almost lend yourself freely to people, who languish in safety and have often proved themselves incompetent. I'm not knocking professional soldiery but it's not without it's dubious elements is it?
I stand corrected on the tax issue.
We need to seperate the two professions. I'd guess there are fewer than four hundred tanker drivers affected by this dispute....we have tens of thousands of military personnel. Give them all forty k. a year if you want top - rate tax to start at £200 quid a week. Comparisons are spurious. I joined the RAF as a daft kid of eighteen - stuck it for three months and bought meself out for twenty (borrowed) quid. At my stage of life now I'm afraid joining the military voluntarily in a democratic free state means you're a politicians pawn.
I would never put my life on the line for politicians...unless my country was facing a direct threat.
Those serving in Afghanistan are being deployed recklessly. Remember John Reids' statement 'they may well come home without a shot being fired' In my opinion hard up British kids should not be losing their lives at the current rate inside this dusty third world dump, which seems to be populated by noble indigenous people who are wily, hardy and could govern their own destiny if push came to the kind of shoves Britain dealt with centuries ago.
Abandoning the country is a real option. Training camps and the like can be spotted by drone and wiped out by air strikes if necessary.
Meanwhile the petrol you buy is expensive...the men who deliver it are very well paid.
There will always be salary leaders in any industry...I'd rather haul cardboard about for £20k. nobody wants to steal it....it doesn't move (he hopes with fingers x'd)it's has a high flashpoint and most days I'm up at six and home by four.
Sorry to go on but I've been drinking - hope it duzznee show too much.
Strange how when ordinary working folk manage to garner a good wage they are villified by their less fortunate contemporaries.
If I were driving a potential bomb, the retail value of which (one load) equalled my annual salary for the whole year AND I was doing it or one of the most profitable companies on earth then I would want a good salary too.
These guys are fortunate. As a truck driver who does not work hard, had very regular hours and is home every night I say this:
I earn slightly more than half the Shell contracted drivers salary.
I am every bit as 'skilled' a driver as they are.
I have driven tankers (Milk and Fuel) before and they are weird creatures - they handle differently and need special attention. Despite bulkheads the load MOVES - sloshes about and can have you over relatively easily.
Empty, a petrol tanker is almost as lethal as when full ( volatile vapour).
Recently (two years ago) a tanker driver drowned in fuel because he could not be cut out of his cab....(admitedly anecdotal but from a trustworthy source)
The guys will be paying tax at 40p. in the pound - working weekends on a rolling shift system nights/lates etc. They are hauling 35,000 litres at a time. Loading is hazardous. Delievering is hazardous. Fools don't do it. I tried for a while but stopped...not because I'm a fool..rather the opposite actually.
Just for once be glad that someone somewhere in this country of blatant excesses like city bonuses and extravagant weddings for footballers that honest, hard working 'ordinary' fellas (and the odd woman) are being paid a good wage for what they do.
Should give the rest of us hope...if nothing else.
As for soldiers...everyone is a volunteer...good luck to them, they have my utmost respect but nobody EVER becomes a soldier for the dosh. Most of 'em enjoy a scrap - fact.
Every weay you look at it you can see they are a grabbing shower of you know whats and over paid for what they do. They are holding the country and the poor motorist to ransom because of the oil situation.
I've a lot of respect for anyone who drives for a living. Two of my uncles did -one long distance (having learned to drive trucks serving in the Eighth Army) - the other was a driver for Caithness County Council. He drove whatever he was told to drive on the day, including snowploughs back in the 50s/60s when there was real, deep snow. :eek:
Both considered themselves ordinary, working men -they took a pride in their work and worked long hours, but neither thought they were exploited or underpaid for what they did. Both liked having an outdoor job that gave them relative freedom and the time to think their own thoughts.
As far as I know the average UK salary is currently about £22K, so tanker drivers are already doing quite well, imo. I do think their demand for so much more money is a sign of opportunism and greed. :(
Btw, I don't have a car!
Re: 'Soldiers enjoy a scrap' - I reckon most combatative troops like Paratroopers and the Marines would fall into that category. Otherwise, why join the elite fighting forces of this country? I didn't mean hand to hand bar-room type scraps...I meant combat. I'd guess sixty per cent of their training is geared towards harvesting their innate aggression...a perfectly normal by-product of testosterone in post-pubescent males. I've never had much of it - aggression I mean, and so find it hard to comprehend what goes on in the minds of these worthy chaps.
The others who prefer remote killing with mortars and artillery may be different. The problem is you cannot choose who you kill. You almost lend yourself freely to people, who languish in safety and have often proved themselves incompetent. I'm not knocking professional soldiery but it's not without it's dubious elements is it?
The point I'm making percy is that just because a soldier is a volunteer, it doesn't mean they don't deserve more money and more respect. If thats your point well aren't tanker drivers all volunteers too??
I'm not bothered about how much the driver's earn. What does bother me is how the media helps create the fuel shortage 'crisis'. There are other fuel suppliers but somehow drivers don't seem to recognise that. Anything that is likely to cause panic-buying in this country is quickly hyped by TV and newspapers. As long as the story fits their agenda, they don't give a damn about the facts. It is irresponsible reporting and they should be held to account for it.
What is with people in this country anyway? The slightest little hiccup in their lives and it's rush off to the shops/garages and stock up 'just in case'. I have only the 1 car, therefore only 1 fuel tank, where else am I going to put it? The glove box?
It is so maddening to see these people acting in this manner. I've never panic bought anything in my life-if it isn't available then I'll just do without.
Sorry folks, rant over.
Here's something the media hasn't yet reported on. I suggest that within the next week or so we go out and bulk buy sugar because the price is going to double within the next 2 months. I had that info last week from a friend who works for Tate & Lyle. Something to do with a poor harvest in the Ukraine,(no,I didn't know they grew it there either), and in the USA due to flooding.
I think the reason they get higher pay than other drivers is because the type of load there carrying its more of danger money.
But i think what they are doing is stupid and they are just being greedy they are on a lot higher wage buy a long shot compared to the average worker.
Its amazing why the drivers dont look for another driving job if they are not happy with there wages maybey because they no they wont get anything near the wages they are currently on and are just being greedy and causing trouble buy getting the unions involved
You are right there - the media gives it all the hype it can, lets face it 90% of tankers are still rolling.
Yesterday went over to Wick shopping and decided to put £20 of unleaded in - brings us up to three quarters full, no deed to panic - however as we needed a couple of litres of fuel for the lawn mower and found could not siphon any out of the V70 (anti-siphon device?) took a small green can with us.
I was bent over putting fuel in the can and if looks could kill! - and I even had a comment of "there's no shortage you know!" was not forestalled by me trying to explain we had not even filled the car it was just two litres for the lawn mower.. honest..
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