Tanker drivers on strike ! - Do you think they are under paid ?

[Edgecraft]

Is it just me watching the news about the tanker drivers strike and thinking you greedy load of ***tards ?

A director from Hoyles was on and said average basic wage is £33k and average earnings (inc OT) is £36k, if they take the offer on the table 7% now and 6% in January 09 the average earnings will increase to around £41k !

I was talking to someone at weekend whose father was a tanker driver for years before retiring and he said his dad use to say it's no more difficult than driving a bread wagon !

Do drivers of tankers carrying hazardous chemicals get that sort of pay i wonder.

What do you think ?

Darren

[Ivor Bigun]

One of the drivers on the tv said it was like driving a bomb around. Well Flying Officers in the RAF actually do "drive" bombs around and they dont get paid forty one grand.

[Dave_L]

They are grossly overpaid IMO.

[flowjoe]

Had it easy for too bloody long, funny this should come up when hours of work are being discussed on the forum.

If they don`t want to do it they should get off their fat arse`s and get out of the business, there are plenty who would take the risk for that kind of wonga.

How many hours would they have to work in the buidling game to take home that kind of money :;):

[Pablo]

Their gripe is that their wages haven't gone up in 15 years. If thats the case then all thats happening is that they started out being vastly overpaid in a time of plenty and things are now adjusting to a normal salary level. The money these guys are on is still bloody good and to be honest fuel tankers aren't dangerous when was the last time one blew up i can't remember. If they were that dangerous as they claim then they would be escorted everywhere. They earn way above most others and the only qualifications they need is a Licence and a level head. My wife has spent the last 9 years at uni becoming a doctor of clinical psychology and she won't be on that kind of money for a while yet.

[Mikey_C]

soon as I heard what they are already getting and will probably end up getting I thought I might get my HGV license and apply! its no more dangerous than my drive to work in car!

[lutonlagerlout]

my stance on wages are and have always been the same

if you don't like your salary ,you should have worked a little bit harder at school and you would be driving a desk now for a lot more money

firemen nurses teachers soldiers lorry drivers,no one made them do those jobs,they applied for them.
there was a millionaire hedge fund manager in the times this week who started off as a bricklayer,he soon realised it wasnt for him and went into the city

i am happy with what i earn ,i could earn more but there's no tow bar on a hearse
LLL

[ange jones]

I am an accountant and I only earn a bit more than that I am seriously thinking about hangin up my pen, I drive 3hrs a day to and from wk already so couldnt be too hard!! (then again I am crap at driving a car let alone a tanker!!) I agree with you LLL no one chains you to your job!!

[seanandruby]

Thought it was odd that a few indian boys on my site were doing their HGVs, because they are already on a good wage. It all becomes clear now that i know what tanker drivers earn for doing very little. Does anyone remember when us builders went on strike to get a pound an hour?

[Dave_L]

You wait, the tanker industry will start employing Polish workers. Then the UK drivers will get a reality check.

I don't think the drivers have any public sympathy/support now their incomes have been publicised.

[Edgecraft]

I don't have any problem with what people earn, but what really gets my goat is when the likes of tanker drivers start harping on about how hard done to they are !

One of there arguments for more money was based on how dangerous there job is ......Blah blah blah

My friend is on less money than them and he's a lead hand fireman and not only has to face the real prospect of being injured or killed on a daily basis but also has crap shift patterns to deal with, oh yes and he also has his HGV license !

If you ask me the *anker drivers need to take a good look around them and get back in the real world.

Darren

[lutonlagerlout]

careful darren, your getting sucked in by fireman talk (sorry firefighter talk :;): )

most dangerous jobs in the uk,
steeplejack/scaffolder, fishermen,bomb disposal,rigger,diver ,pilot ,armed forces and motor sport driver rider.
cant see tanker driver there??

a good mate of mine is a fireman and he says its actually a very safe job,everything they do is geared towards safety,its just when it does go wrong its big news,
whereas when a construction worker dies at wembley stadium it gets a paragraph in the local paper
i was researching this and i found that 63 men and boys died during the construction of the forth bridge and there were 26,000 entries in the accident book during the 7 years it took

its easy to knock the HSE but look at the lives they have saved especially on fathers day
regards LLL

[danensis]

my stance on wages are and have always been the same

if you don't like your salary ,you should have worked a little bit harder at school and you would be driving a desk now for a lot more money

I have a degree, and drive a desk, but earn nothing like £41K a year.

We had a school reunion a couple of weeks ago, and one of my classmates had just sold his company for £225m - obviously I'm in the wrong job again!

[lutonlagerlout]

i went to school with danny cannon and he has done alright
dc i would like to say he was a pal at school but i found him an irritating so and so then and i would guess he is now
i'm happy with exactly what i am doing now,and if i didnt like it i would change it :;): well the lottery would help if i did it
LLL

[Mikey_C]

i know what you mean LLL, it's personal choice it terms of a career, the trouble is not knowing what you want to do, combined with knowing you need to keep your income up to certain level, so you pay your bills!