Lorry driver recruitment crisis

[squizzler]

Currently the UK is short of lorry drivers to the tune of some 60,000, according to the Road Haulage Association. The media is already reporting a shortage of Haribo due to lack or drivers.

Lorry driver shortage threatens Haribo sweets​

German confectionery giant Haribo has said it is struggling to deliver its sweets to shops in the UK because of a shortage of lorry drivers.
It said that like many other producers and retailers, it was "experiencing challenges" that were hitting supplies.
The haulage industry has blamed the pandemic and Brexit for thousands of unfilled HGV driver jobs.

This is of course very good news for the new breed of rail logistics operators such as Orion, and indeed any firm able to bring some innovation to the logistics business. There is also the question of whether as a society we should be continuing to move ever more stuff over ever greater distances.

Who would become a lorry driver? In many respects the business seems to be facing a similar recruitment crisis as that apparently faced by (steam) railways after WW2: perceived as an unattractive industry to be in, with few prospects for advancement and antisocial hours. Yet which places massive responsibility on the drivers charged with taking such large lorries amongst traffic on the public highway.

I feel that smaller wagons, whilst having less capacity per unit, would be easier to find drivers willing to take them on. Many people with older car driving licences already have permission to drive 7.5 tonne wagons and could switch career straight away.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

The problem could be reduced quite easily by the shops offering fewer unnecessary 'goods' such as bottled water.

 

[Titfield]

This crisis has been widely forecast for at least a decade.

The reality is that driving has become far less attractive as a job compared to many other roles. If you look at many other industries stating there is a "recruitment crisis" they seem to share one thing in common: so called anti social hours.

It seems somewhat ironic that as we have moved to a 24/7 on demand economy so peoples willingness to work nights / weekends seems to have diminished.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

This crisis has been widely forecast for at least a decade.

The reality is that driving has become far less attractive as a job compared to many other roles. If you look at many other industries stating there is a "recruitment crisis" they seem to share one thing in common: so called anti social hours.

It seems somewhat ironic that as we have moved to a 24/7 on demand economy so peoples willingness to work nights / weekends seems to have diminished.

As regards having a 24/7 economy we should accept as consumers that there may be a cost to such a (comparative) luxury ie slightly increased prices to allow better pay for those working the anti-social hours. Somehow I doubt that idea will have many supporters!

 

[johnmoly]

It started a few years ago when the Government introduced the requirement that all drivers had to have a CPC, Certificate of Professional Competence, that the EU insisted upon. Please note some other EU Countries just ignored it. Most drivers would have to take a weeks leave, unpaid, and pay for the course themselves. So they left the industry. Nowadays it is mostly 'foreign' drivers driving the HGV's around the UK, one of which being Polish came over for a fortnight breaking most of the laws then returned home for a fortnight. He has been doing this for a few years now but is normally a nice guy. The DFT are aware of the law breaking but can't do much about it otherwise they know the UK would grind to a halt. Coupled with the anti social hours and regularly 12 hour days I doubt if the situation will improve.

 

[Bald Rick]

I remember attending a lecture over 30 years ago where it was explained there was a severe shortage of lorry drivers, and the industry was in crisis. Plus ça change. The answer - as I posted on another thread a few days ago - is that their pay will go up.

 

[squizzler]

The crisis of the time may well have been real. What subsequently happened of course was that a bunch of Central European countries joined the EU and Britain suddenly got access to a massive pool of drivers (and fruit pickers, plumbers etc). Now that jig is up, the industry situation will be back to as described in that lecture you cite, arguably worse as the reckoning has been put off thirty years.

 

[XAM2175]

It started a few years ago when the Government introduced the requirement that all drivers had to have a CPC, Certificate of Professional Competence, that the EU insisted upon. Please note some other EU Countries just ignored it.

Please list these countries.

 

[johnmoly]

Please list these countries.

And get their administrations in trouble - no chance.

 

[busesrusuk]

I am also curious as to who these countries are/were. I doubt if UK government (MI5 etc) or any other government are trawling sites such as this for evidence of non compliance so would think you are reasonably safe to offer an opinion.

Back in 2007/8 I was part of an industry wide steering group tasked with defining the structure of Driver CPC and its implementation for PCV (bus) drivers. The bus industry went live a year before LGV and what we agreed for buses applied equally to Lorries, albeit with a change of emphasis to reflect the differences between the two industries.

My "day job" was in recruitment/training and since the introduction of Driver CPC I reckon I have recruited drivers from just about every EU nation with the exception of Croatia which had only just joined the EU by the time of my retirement and I don't recall seeing any Croatian nationals.

However, I must say that both awareness and compliance with the regulations was quite high amongst the drivers I recruited (and we are talking 1000's of drivers). All knew of CPC and understood what was required. It is true that the interpretation and implementation of the rules varied between nations, however, I never heard anything in the subsequent years of any country deliberately avoiding/ignoring or flouting the regulations.

Driver CPC was the number one topic as the steering group that we set up to manage CPC introduction continued subsequently to ensure that the regulations were working as planned and making tweaks and recommendations following practical experience. Government was represented by people from both the DVSA and DVLA and I am absolutely certain that any flouting or ignoring of the regs would have come up in discussion and hotly debated.

Back to the subject of driver shortages, I see today that Shapp's has announced that he is allowing drivers to drive for longer due to the driver shortage - I assume that he means that it is permissible to exceed current drivers hours regs. I would be interested to hear how that works in practice and how it may affect drivers who do trips abroad to mainland Europe and Eire where EU drivers hours would (I assume) be expected to be adhered to.

I must admit I heard many tales from Lorry drivers as to how they breached drivers hour regs which seemed far more prevalent in the industry than breaches of CPC regs.

 

[XAM2175]

And get their administrations in trouble - no chance.

I am also curious as to who these countries are/were. I doubt if UK government (MI5 etc) or any other government are trawling sites such as this for evidence of non compliance so would think you are reasonably safe to offer an opinion.

Every time I have enquired of people making claims that EU member states are ignoring regulations the claimant has either refused to answer, or has cited instances where the UK Government unilaterally required a higher standard of compliance than other states did (such as with the PRM TSI implementation). Unsurprisingly the trend continues unbroken.

 

[Aictos]

How difficult is it to upgrade a Cat B licence to Cat C (Cat B was passed on a manual)?

If wages go up for HGV work, expect a lot of people applying in the same way a lot of people apply as train drivers!

 

[busesrusuk]

As a first step you need to apply for a provisional Cat C licence having had a medical to prove your fitness to drive large vehicles.

Once you have your provisional licence you need to sit the Theory test which is split into two parts - Module 1A and 1B.
#You will also have to pass two modules to gain your Driver CPC card - these are known as Mod2 and 4. You also have to pass the practical test (known as Mod3) which you cannot take unless/until you have passed the two theory test elements (Mod1A and 1B).

All of the above takes time and money as you will also have to undertake some practical driver training with a training provider. I reckon you are looking at circa £1000 depending on how much basic training you have; plus of course your time. Unlike the bus industry that takes recruits and put them through the training programme (and would generally pay them whilst doing the training) at no cost to the trainee, the HGV industry relies a lot more on people self-funding their training - many companies only being interested in taking on qualified drivers. However, I do believe that some of the larger companies will provide the training such as Royal Mail and possibly some of the larger logistics companies.

Of course, one other option to get the HGV licence is to join the army!

I would suggest that pay and conditions need to improve dramatically to be on a par with the train companies. Agency drivers in London are being offered £11-!4 an hour for a qualified HGV driver ( other rates no doubt available to).

 

[the sniper]

Unlike the bus industry that takes recruits and put them through the training programme (and would generally pay them whilst doing the training) at no cost to the trainee, the HGV industry relies a lot more on people self-funding their training - many companies only being interested in taking on qualified drivers. However, I do believe that some of the larger companies will provide the training such as Royal Mail and possibly some of the larger logistics companies.

This is principally why I have absolutely no sympathy for these companies and their pathetic cries. It's a situation entirely of their own making and was/is easily avoided. They've had it far too good for far too long, they've got away with treating people like crap for far too long. To be worse than bus companies, Jesus...

And this is the way the State would love the railway to go!

 

[Titfield]

Once a driver has the HGV entitlement the ongoing CPC is 35 hours of training over 5 years ie 1 day per annum.

By comparison with many roles this is a very small amount of ongoing professional training.

The point that seems to be being ignored is that wages / salaries in most occupations are dictated by the law of supply and demand. It may well be that the current crisis ie supply is less than demand will compel rates to go up to bring the situation back to equilibrium.

Time will tell if this is a temporary blip or whether wage rates will go up to ensure that demand is met.

 

[TravelDream]

I would suggest that pay and conditions need to improve dramatically to be on a par with the train companies. Agency drivers in London are being offered £11-!4 an hour for a qualified HGV driver ( other rates no doubt available to).

It's simply supply and demand.
Supply of cheap labour was previously possible because of our EU membership. The industry, like many others to be fair, has had their eyes closed for far too long on the issue and are now suffering because of it.
That's how the free market should work.

Obviously I don't know London lorry driver salaries, but a quick look on indeed shows ones a lot higher than £11-14 per hour.
For someone with a licence...
Royal Mail - £38k - https://uk.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=45d55524f34deba2&tk=1fa8a0llrtv1u800&
A builder's merchant - £2800 per month - https://uk.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=bdb813d0b17589d4&tk=1fa8a0llrtv1u800&
Olleco - £42k - https://uk.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=35a3d0e6cead272e&tk=1fa8a0llrtv1u800
Skip Lorry Driver - £19 per hour - https://uk.indeed.com/viewjob?cmp=GBN-SERVICES&t=HGV+Skip+Driver&jk=4632d1d2667b07c8
An agency in Croydon - £20-£22 per hour - https://uk.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=73def82bcdd62b9a&tk=1fa8am1nnttit800&from=serp&vjs=3

The even have ones for someone without a licence...
Reynolds - £25.5k during training and £31.2k after - https://uk.indeed.com/viewjob?cmp=Reynolds-CS&t=Trainee+Driver+Academy&jk=236490fd0fda2d2d&q
AO.com - £10 per hour during training - https://uk.indeed.com/jobs?q=hgv driver&l=London, Greater London&vjk=1ddf27b03bf36f35

They also have lower paying jobs, but that is supply and demand. People will gravitate to the higher paying jobs and the lower paying companies will have to a) have no drivers, or b) lower their standards (if possible), or c) increase their pay rates.

 

[superjohn]

I’m not convinced EU drivers returning home is really driving the crisis. It may suit some political agendas to present it that way though, ie. “You voted leave to get rid of all the East Europeans and now they’re going”.

EU nationals who were working here pre Brexit are able to stay on and most are. I agree their arrival depressed wages in the sector but they are not causing the shortage by leaving. There is a recruitment crisis across many sectors and I believe drivers of all origins are being tempted away by better wages and conditions elsewhere. The transport companies just have to make the job more attractive again. The economy will balance itself out as it always has in will. This maybe in the form of better terms and conditions for drivers, a shift to other modes or a mix of both.

 

[Applepie356]

Is this for real this time? For years and years now the press & the RHA have always been rambling on about a supposed driver shortage. However if you just recently gained your HGV licence years ago you would of had a hard time getting employed on a 7.5t, let alone an articulated truck.

But it also doesn’t surprise me, for years now the HGV industry has been a race to the bottom for the drivers.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

I may drive a vehicle of 7.5t, but I never have. Could I get a good job?

Moaning about staff shortages is very familiar, capitalism needs a reserve of unemployed people so that wages can be kept down. (And communism just can not provide the quality and quantity of goods people want).

 

[squizzler]

It seems like there will be a strike shortly. The action is described as a "stay at home" day so will hopefully be free of disruption such as "go-slows" on the highway or static blockades that might otherwise be used by the media to set public opinion against their cause.

I say more power to their elbow. Whilst I don't like the effects of lorries on the environment or traffic, it can't be an easy job and I hope they manage to make collective bargaining work for them. We all have to use the highways - effectively their shop floor - so public safety stands to benefit from working conditions in the sector being improved.

UK lorry drivers plan to strike over low pay and poor working conditions [link]​

Lorry drivers are planning a nationwide strike over their working conditions, prompting warnings that this would magnify food shortages and cripple the country’s already creaking supply chains. [continues...]

 

[BRX]

It seems like there will be a strike shortly. The action is described as a "stay at home" day so will hopefully be free of disruption such as "go-slows" on the highway or static blockades that might otherwise be used by the media to set public opinion against their cause.

I say more power to their elbow. Whilst I don't like the effects of lorries on the environment or traffic, it can't be an easy job and I hope they manage to make collective bargaining work for them. We all have to use the highways - effectively their shop floor - so public safety stands to benefit from working conditions in the sector being improved.

I agree. The article doesn't say how they are organising though - is it via a union? My impression was that lottery drivers on the whole aren't unionised.

 

[krus_aragon]

My impression was that lottery drivers on the whole aren't unionised.

If they were, they could use a bingo machine when they hold a ballot!

 

[squizzler]

I agree. The article doesn't say how they are organising though - is it via a union? My impression was that lottery drivers on the whole aren't unionised.

I suppose the reason they were not previously is because there was always the threat that if they became unionised their employers could bring in somebody from elsewhere prepared to do the job cheaper.

Now that particular wheeze is shown to be a busted flush, they would be foolish not to at least attempt to bargain collectively if not go the whole hog and establish a trade union.

Interesting times!

 

[the sniper]

I agree. The article doesn't say how they are organising though - is it via a union? My impression was that lottery drivers on the whole aren't unionised.

Taxi drivers in places have got organised via social media and in some cases subsequently got unionised via the RMT.

 

[TravelDream]

Tesco is going to offer a £1000 bonus to drivers who join. A tiny amount in the grand scheme of things, but it sure did get the interest of all the newspapers/BBC.

A quick check of their website says the salary on offer is 'competitive' which usually means not that good. Though you do get a free uniform...

A recruitment agency helpfully does post their PAYE salaries:

• Monday to Friday Days (06:00 – 21:59) - £12.73 per hour
• Monday to Friday Nights (22:00 – 05:59) - £15.91 per hour
• Saturday & Sunday Days (06:00 – 21:59) - £15.91 per hour
• Saturday & Sunday Nights (22:00 – 05:59)- £16.97 per hour

I am sure we can all see now why they are struggling to get staff. Why would someone work for £12.73 an hour with the requirement to already have their own license?
Youngsters would be far better off doing plumbing, bricklaying or electrics at college rather than trying to get a HGV licence as they would earn more and be home every night.

Tesco offers £1,000 joining bonus for HGV lorry drivers

The supermarket chain is deploying the recruitment tactic amid a shortage in lorry drivers.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[BRX]

Those rates expose the real economics of road haulage and go some way to explaining why railfreight can so often struggle to compete.

 

[47550]

Given the shortage of drivers what sort of traffic flows could be transferred to rail relatively quickly and easily ? There will be limiting factors for rail such as the availability of paths and rolling stock availability but surely there must be some areas rail is targeting to gain ?

 

[BananaRepublic]

The shortage of lorry drivers isn't limited to the UK.
Take from an article in a European trade magazine, written two and half years ago.......

TRUCK DRIVER SHORTAGE CRISIS NOW SPREADING ACROSS THE WHOLE OF EUROPE​

European road transport firms are racing towards a driver shortage crisis of 150,000 unfilled jobs, according to new research from Transport Intelligence.​

In a report released this week, European Road Freight Transport 2018, the supply chain analyst shows that in just six countries – the UK, Germany, France, Denmark Sweden and Norway – the shortage of drivers adds up to 127,500.
The UK leads the way with a shortage of 52,000 drivers, but is closely followed by Germany at 45,000 vacancies – with predictions that this could increase by a staggering 28,000 each year.

The report says: “In Germany, the DSLV transport union reports that in the next 15 years, two-thirds of drivers will retire.
Germany is facing a shortage of 45,000 truck drivers, with around 30,000 leaving the profession every year.
This compares with only 2,000 people receiving truck-driving qualifications each year.”

France has a shortage of 20,000 drivers, while road freight associations in Sweden, Denmark and Norway report shortages of 5,000, 2,500 and 3,000, respectively.
This, of course, leaves out more than 20 countries in Europe where numbers have not been collected – although it is safe to assume that similar trends are likely across western countries, where driver numbers have been on the decline for the past two decades.
This gap in the labour market has been partly filled by an influx of East Europeans, but the report warns there is a limit as to how much this will ease the driver shortage........




.

From the Irish Independent, a couple of weeks ago....

Acute shortage of lorry drivers could harm Ireland’s trade

The shortage of lorry drivers in Ireland has become “so serious” that it represents a significant challenge to the effective distribution of goods both domestically and internationally, according to the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA).

www.independent.ie

.

 

[squizzler]

Ireland needn't be in trouble because their rail system hosts a shockingly low proportion of the national freight share. If they managed to elevate it even to the modest proportion of intermodal that UK enjoys it would at least represent a good start.

 

[AlterEgo]

I remember attending a lecture over 30 years ago where it was explained there was a severe shortage of lorry drivers, and the industry was in crisis. Plus ça change. The answer - as I posted on another thread a few days ago - is that their pay will go up.

If their pay goes up, we will certainly hear the end of the idea that Brexit caused the shortage in the first place.

Try low wages, poor conditions and it generally being the sort of job "it's fine for someone else's kids to do".