Times reporting low visa uptake for HGV drivers

[Gingernaut]

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300 visas on offer and 27 applied for.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/supply-crisis-military-moves-in-with-tanker-deliveries-to-petrol-stations-d00gls0bc

There are reports of driver shortages here in Ireland too, and of Irish drivers being approached at UK truck stops and offered jobs, as they don't need visas.

DH is an Ex HGV driver and recieved a letter from DVLA begging him to come back.
At 55 he has said no chance.

I think all the big companies (and the small) were squeezed with staff shortages etc during Covid. Rather than spend then to enroll more drivers etc for the future they sat tight on paying the minimum for staff that they could. Now this has come home to bite them. All the bollox about putting the customer first is proven to be nonsense - it's profits always first and fewer staff meant bigger profits at a difficult time.

Now we are where we are.

I think the point is rather being missed here. It was never about whether or not anyone would apply for the visas, but rather so that whichever hopeless minister took the time off from sunbathing to announce the amazing new policy had something to announce.

But also forcing the supermarket, oil co. , employers to get off their xxxxx, apparently there have been driver shortages for years. Rather than pay for decent accommodation or pay a proper rate they skimped.

I wish people would stop repeating blindly what the UK media tells them. ‘Germany and Netherlands are also suffering shortages’.

How have you verified these facts? Have you looked at German or Dutch media outlets? Our national TV services and newspapers? Or do you just believe whatever Sky News tells you?

I live here. We have petrol. Plenty of it. We have food. There are no shortages like in the UK, and no one even talks about supply issues? Last time shortages were reported was a few weeks ago, when the country was apparently low on crisps and printing paper (in normal shops - businesses weren’t affected).

Let’s not compare facts that aren’t even true.

@EileenGC I live in the Netherlands and just read an article about truck shortages nationally on the NOS website. There's no shortage of things on the shelves, but there's a shortage of truck drivers. I said that to make clear how incredibly easy it would be for a Polish truck driver to get work here.

I have a Facebook friend who has HGV license (from her army days) she was also sent a letter saying terms and conditions are improving for HGV drivers and did she want to do.

I’m surprised anyone has taken up the offer of the new visas.

There has always been a shortage of truck drivers. I say that as someone who has relatives working as truck drivers all over Europe. This is not a new thing.

Of course related news will emerge when one subject is dominating at the moment. But you can't compare the UK situation with that of NL or DE at the moment, because they're very different and unrelated.

Boris was saying yesterday how the US and China are also experiencing shortages due to reopening their borders. US and China's borders are mostly still shut tight, at least until next month People will hear that nonsense and just start using it as an argument for their own benefit.

You're right in that it's incredibly easy and cheap for EU drivers to relocate anywhere on the continent if they need/want to. They can also bring their families if they wish, which is now not possible to do coming to the UK. Many people would prefer not to leave their families behind when they relocate for a job that requires them to be based in Kent instead of Warsaw for months at a time.

Not that it matters much but I thought Boris ( on Radio 4 this morning ) said 127 visas applied for .

I'm struck that he's admitting to such a low number ,seems uncharacteristically honest .

My in laws are in NL. No shortages in shops, just the driver shortage.

I did read that the EU spent quite a bit of money in the last couple of years, improving conditions for drivers on the continent.

They had a guy on the radio the other day. British but drives all over the continent. When asked which was the best place in Europe for HGV drivers he reckoned Germany then France. Apparently the facilities are great, with showers, cafes etc. You pay a small amount but can reclaim a high percentage back. Uk as usual was the worst with very little infrastructure.

@lancashirelady

There is a shortage of drivers across Europe, not just the UK.

Yes, but Europe is not experiencing fuel and food shortages.

Because:

Their drivers can easily carry a ‘backload’, make return or onward deliveries across different countries, making far more efficient use of the drivers they do have.

They have free movement, so E European drivers can move between employers across Europe…and go home for the weekend.

Conditions for drivers on the continent are civilised. There are good lorry parks for rest and overnight breaks, treated with respect, facilities provided.

Here drivers at depots are made to wait in bare rooms, no tea or coffee provided, not even allowed to use the toilets at many. They spend rest periods and often overnight in lay byes on dual carriageways with no toilet facilities. Many have experienced the shocking debacle of Operation Stack etc and are not keen to come back.

‘There is a Europe wide shortage’ narrative is a spin. The shortage in Europe is not having the impact it has here.

@Maggiesgirl

DH is an Ex HGV driver and recieved a letter from DVLA begging him to come back. At 55 he has said no chance.

Apparently the letter was sent to everyone with the right licences. Hence paramedics etc getting them too.

This is a post from a Truck Drivers forum:

“I had an interesting conversation with two Polish drivers on Thursday while loading at an air cargo facility near Amsterdam Schipol. They heard me speaking English to the goods out clerk so asked me how the fuel and driver shortage was going? It's big news in the Dutch media and the subject of various tv satire shows. I asked them if they both fancied going over to the UK to assist for three months, but they both laughed.

Over the next half hour we chatted over the free coffee that's always provided while our trucks were being loaded, and they explained that they had a good little number in the Netherlands which paid well enough. They just did Holland and Belgium with no nights out. If a night out was required, then parking was free at all the services with none of this pay to park business like at UK services. They had reasonably priced accommodation near their base in Roosendaal, and if they wanted to visit home in Poland, it was an easy drive from Holland back to Poznan, Warsaw or Krakow or wherever. For those drivers that didn't have a car, their firm worked together with a Polish travel company (GTV, you see their coaches and minibuses all over Holland) to provide subsidised coaches back to Poland. The coaches would pick up at several truck firms in Roosendaal, Tilburg and Breda on a Friday night after drivers had done a shift, and then travel overnight to PL to take them home for a week or so R & R.

They said why would we want to come to the UK, where by the time they had sorted out accommodation and got settled, it would be time for them to get kicked out again. Or, they would have to cross the Channel each time they wanted to pop home to the family during the three months. Both politely said "thanks, but no thanks". They were still laughing as they picked up their CMR's and wished me a good afternoon as they walked to their trucks”

Capitalism innit. Prioritising profit over long term investment in staff, pay and conditions. I'm not surprised nobody wants to be a lorry driver, the conditions are very poor. Companies and employers reap what they sow.

I think nothing will improve as long as so many Brexiters are in government

The sensible thing to do right now is start subsidising a massive training programme so at least next year things will be better, but then they would have to admit Brexit wasn't all unicorns and rainbows

Capitalism innit. Prioritising profit over long term investment in staff, pay and conditions

rocklamp has it ^

Apparently this is want the tories have been asking for the last 11 years according to Johnson on LBC

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/fuel-crisis-eu-drivers-visa-b1932336.html

As PPs have said, why would any drivers in their right minds want to come to this place?

No facilities worth a damn, expensive accommodation, no support and lousy terms and conditions.

Fair play to them.

Apparently on French news today, they have said the EU is considering offering 5 year work visas to British HGV drivers

I can't help but laugh at the evil-genius of it

@Spiindoctor

I think all the big companies (and the small) were squeezed with staff shortages etc during Covid. Rather than spend then to enroll more drivers etc for the future they sat tight on paying the minimum for staff that they could. Now this has come home to bite them. All the bollox about putting the customer first is proven to be nonsense - it's profits always first and fewer staff meant bigger profits at a difficult time.

Now we are where we are.

Nope. Driving tests were stopped, driving lessons were forbidden, DVLA weren't available to process applications.

Nope. Driving tests were stopped, driving lessons were forbidden, DVLA weren't available to process applications.

I stand corrected but remember Brexit was in 2016 I would say there has been time to make plans and some adjustments.