HGV Driver Shortages

[Hilts]

What a mess.

Is recruiting from Europe the answer.?

[Whisperer]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

What a mess.

Is recruiting from Europe the answer.?

No - paying proper wages is the answer.

[19bluebirds27]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

Offer free or heavily subsidised HGV training to our own.
That’s the answer.

Plenty of people have taken up a new career as a courier lately and at their own cost in paying for the Van.

[Hilts]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

We are about 100,000 drivers short allegedly.

How long does it take to train and pass a HGV test.

This looks like a long term problem if thats the number we need.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

What a mess.

Is recruiting from Europe the answer.?

There is a shortage of HGV drivers throughout Europe - and European HGV drivers don't have to jump through hoops to work in other EU countries.

[JamesWales]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

What a mess.

Is recruiting from Europe the answer.?

Nope. Thousands of EU HGV workers have the right to work here anyway, so if they aren't its clearly not going to change. There is also a substantial driver shortage in Europe - what makes us think they will come here?

The British economy is realigning following Brexit. There will be good changes and bad but some disruption is inevitable.

The answer ultimately is to raise wages for British workers. Opening up our economy to an almost endless supply of workers, most of whom have far lower wages expectations than us has relatively damaged working class wages. It hasn't done so at the top, who benefit from it incidentally (probably why very generally speaking, wealthier people generally voted remain, whilst poorer people generally voted leave)

We are hopefully coming to the end of a pandemic and are in the midst of a realigning economy. We need to hold our nerve and get through it.

Practical steps I would suggest: More use of smaller delivery vans where possible, fast-track HGV driver training, campaigns to get retirees back for 1-2 years, have army on standby.

For me it's critical we stand with the workers on this one.

[WJ99mobile]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

There is a shortage of HGV drivers throughout Europe - and European HGV drivers don't have to jump through hoops to work in other EU countries.

When you’re in charge of a massive vehicle with huge hazards and long hours in a job you do need to concentrate on I don’t think the finger should be pointed as ‘hoops’

Look at the difference to train and tube drivers and they haven’t got other idiotic road users to deal with

They need plenty of training but it should be free

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

The British economy is realigning following Brexit. There will be good changes and bad but some disruption is inevitable.

I thought Brexit was going to make everything better straight away? How long are these disruptions going to last? Rees-Mogg reckoned some as long as 50 years....

[Undercoverinwurzelland]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

The Road Haulage Association (who should know more about the problem than the rest of us) reckon it's a problem that's been made worse by brexit and have asked for EU HGV drivers to given back the right to live and work here:

"We need an immediate solution to this problem - we are not going to solve this now by training drivers and as such need access to EU and EEA labour. We ask for the introduction of a temporary worker visa for HGV drivers and for this occupation to be added to the Home Office Shortage Occupation List.
This will allow UK-registered transport operators to access a workforce that can live and work in the UK more easily and encourage those who have left to return - even if this is short-term measure whilst we concentrate on a longer-term plan."

Whether many want to return/come here is another matter.

https://www.rha.uk.net/News/News-Blogs-and-Press-Releases/press-releases/detail/driver-shortage-rha-and-freight-industry-write-to-prime-minister-boris-johnson

[neilw65]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

The Road Haulage Association (who should know more about the problem than the rest of us) reckon it's a problem that's been made worse by brexit and have asked for EU HGV drivers to given back the right to live and work here:

"We need an immediate solution to this problem - we are not going to solve this now by training drivers and as such need access to EU and EEA labour. We ask for the introduction of a temporary worker visa for HGV drivers and for this occupation to be added to the Home Office Shortage Occupation List.
This will allow UK-registered transport operators to access a workforce that can live and work in the UK more easily and encourage those who have left to return - even if this is short-term measure whilst we concentrate on a longer-term plan."

Whether many want to return/come here is another matter.

https://www.rha.uk.net/News/News-Blo...-boris-johnson

This adds to what you posted in explaining why it's worse here than in the EU

https://trans.info/en/there-s-a-europe-wide-hgv-driver-shortage-so-why-do-uk-supply-chains-seem-more-disrupted-254524

[Nobody's Rep]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

The Road Haulage Association (who should know more about the problem than the rest of us) reckon it's a problem that's been made worse by brexit and have asked for EU HGV drivers to given back the right to live and work here:

"We need an immediate solution to this problem - we are not going to solve this now by training drivers and as such need access to EU and EEA labour. We ask for the introduction of a temporary worker visa for HGV drivers and for this occupation to be added to the Home Office Shortage Occupation List.
This will allow UK-registered transport operators to access a workforce that can live and work in the UK more easily and encourage those who have left to return - even if this is short-term measure whilst we concentrate on a longer-term plan."

Whether many want to return/come here is another matter.

https://www.rha.uk.net/News/News-Blo...-boris-johnson

This is replicated in health social care retail and hospitality with chronic staff shortages - not all caused by brexit but also the pandemic and still people on furlough

[Tuerto]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

Nope. Thousands of EU HGV workers have the right to work here anyway, so if they aren't its clearly not going to change. There is also a substantial driver shortage in Europe - what makes us think they will come here?

The British economy is realigning following Brexit. There will be good changes and bad but some disruption is inevitable.

The answer ultimately is to raise wages for British workers. Opening up our economy to an almost endless supply of workers, most of whom have far lower wages expectations than us has relatively damaged working class wages. It hasn't done so at the top, who benefit from it incidentally (probably why very generally speaking, wealthier people generally voted remain, whilst poorer people generally voted leave)

We are hopefully coming to the end of a pandemic and are in the midst of a realigning economy. We need to hold our nerve and get through it.

Practical steps I would suggest: More use of smaller delivery vans where possible, fast-track HGV driver training, campaigns to get retirees back for 1-2 years, have army on standby.

For me it's critical we stand with the workers on this one.

**** me, well said. This notion that a lot of the people who voted out in the poorest regions are uneducated racists is just plain wrong. Some will be, but the majority aren't. They voted out because successive governments and the Neo Lib EU systemically contributed towards their pay and conditions dropping. It's not the fault of economic migrants, they probably want the same as anyone else, but the fact is that bosses used labour immigration as a way of paying less and squeezing conditions.

At times, I found the remain campaign and plenty of those who were vocal about staying as snooty and condescending, and not at all interested in trying to understand that people from traditional industrial areas were the losers in almost every respect.

The irony is that the white middle class generally stick with their own, because they can and they have options. The working classes have integrated for centuries, due to economic immigration into these areas, and generally, different cultures have rubbed along pretty well.

These people voted out because governments of both colours sold off manufacturing and heavy industry, didn't replace it with real jobs, unions became weak after legislation was passed by the Tories and new labour, and the EU, run by bankers and bosses did their level best to implement policy that was designed to look after the bosses, not the workers.

[Bald Barry Bastad]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

I thought Brexit was going to make everything better straight away? How long are these disruptions going to last? Rees-Mogg reckoned some as long as 50 years....

There was always going to be some disruption. Any one with an ounce of common sense would know that.

[Undercoverinwurzelland]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

This adds to what you posted in explaining why it's worse here than in the EU

https://trans.info/en/there-s-a-euro...srupted-254524

Interesting read, thanks.

[JamesWales]

Re: HGV Driver Shortages

I thought Brexit was going to make everything better straight away? How long are these disruptions going to last? Rees-Mogg reckoned some as long as 50 years....

No you didn't. Any economic changes take a long time to come through.