Fuel Tanker Driver Anyone

[TFSI]

Proposed basic wage of £41,000 but the cabability of £60,000 per year, pootling round a few garages dropping a bit of petty here and a bit of derv there.

Not bad for driving a truck that is that easy to drive my missus has driven one and before that the biggest thing she had driven was an Audi.

 

[Kontraband]

depends who your listening too.

Basic Heli wage £31.7k, proposed 5%-6% increase to £33.5k summat, working 12 hour shift patterns? Now, I'm all for getting pay increases for doing a good job, but lets face it, getting over £30k basic with the option to increase with overtime is a pretty good score. The arguement about it being dangerous transport etc etc is a bit weak, especially if you look at the other industries with 'danger' in them... you know... like fighting on the front line for £7 an hour, or stiching up the faces of 4 drunks in A&E whilst they are still trying to knock 7 shades outta each other.


Its a bit of a fine line for me this one.. I kinda understand their want for more cash, but I think it's going about it in a wrong way due to general oil being priced so high.

Bottom line? I think its easy money for them as it is... I'd rather be driving and listening to my tunes, or sayin traffic instead of slaving over proposals, or wearing this fricking tie!!

 

[fingermouse]

yup danger money as a atnker must blow up every 10 -50 years at least

 

[arthurfuxake]

Shell are posting year upon year of record profits: £13.12bn last year, which followed £10.0bn PROFIT the previous year!!! Oil is at a record price per barrel, so the profits will be record profits again this year, and it's the shareholders and the big cheeses that reap the reward, whilst the "workers" get a below inflation increase offer. I'm sick of oil companies making billions of pounds profit each year, and we are paying record prices for petrol and diesel, so the drivers get my support.

 

[Geordie Mike]

So because they are performing a job comparable to many industries they should be paid more just because the parent company is doing well in another part of their operation? And the say a truck driver for, say a bread firm, wants a similar rise as they do effectively the same job (flour in a confined environment can be explosive too)? Any relationship between skills and pay is destroyed. If people want that they should look to work for a partnership, like John Lewis or something.

 

[unkle]

Bottom line? I think its easy money for them as it is... I'd rather be driving and listening to my tunes, or sayin traffic instead of slaving over proposals, or wearing this fricking tie!!

From about 7am till 9:30am Monday to Friday the roads are packed with people wearing ties that are driving like dicks, driving for a living sucks. (not saying your a ****) and then from 4pm till 6:30pm its Round Two DING! DING! Stay in your office my friend. )

My old man works for Tesco driving artics at night, earns a lot more than 30k and I have another friend who drives for DHL/Wetherspoons, if he does 10 hours overtime on his day off he gets roughly £200 for his troubles. I would guess this is their point, driving frozen chips and burgers pays more than someone driving thousands of gallons of fuel....

 

[auditek]

my mate runs 5 trucks, 150k a year profit, well it used to be, the fuel scenario really hitting him the now, was sayin he would sell up, but who gonna buy him out right now...............

 

[auditek]

been out with him few times, 4.30 am start, 7 pm in the door, could never do it borin as hell .....

 

[Just Plain Old]

Shell are posting year upon year of record profits: £13.12bn last year, which followed £10.0bn PROFIT the previous year!!! Oil is at a record price per barrel, so the profits will be record profits again this year, and it's the shareholders and the big cheeses that reap the reward, whilst the "workers" get a below inflation increase offer. I'm sick of oil companies making billions of pounds profit each year, and we are paying record prices for petrol and diesel, so the drivers get my support.

I think you're missing the point...... The problem is not that drivers (who BTW are'nt actually employed by Shell) don't get their fair share of profits,,,, it's that the oil companies, and the Government, make more profit than they should, by shafting you and me...........!!

 

[Geordie Mike]

I think you're missing the point...... The problem is not that drivers (who BTW are'nt actually employed by Shell) don't get their fair share of profits,,,, it's that the oil companies, and the Government, make more profit than they should, by shafting you and me...........!!

Interesting. How much money should they make? Just to be fair I should make it clear I work for an oil company, but not shell and not one that sells petrol in the UK

 

[voorhees]

Interesting. How much money should they make?

errmm a car forum isn't the most oil company friendly places is it?
I for one think how they can keep on putting up the price when they already make so much,unless I was a shareholder and I'd think keep it going up.

 

[Geordie Mike]

Given it's all ****** tax I don't know why people should be anti-oil. How much do you pay for a litre of freshly squeezed orange juice?

It's a fact oil companies make next to no money out of selling petrol. There is more profit in a twix. As an economy we're suffering from what is a desirable lifestyle. Think about Christmas crackers and the random plastic (made from oil on the other side of the world) and it goes straight in the bin. That's why oil costs so damn much.

As for the money made by the national (i.e. not OPEC, not a government) it is either paid as a dividend (check how much of your pension fund is made up from oil stocks) or reinvested in developing oil production to supply in ten years time.

Besides, its got to be better than a parking warden

 

[voorhees]

v-power is about 126 a litre here....was about 1.10 before Christmas and I cannot remember Mr Brown putting 16p tax on it so who has then?


Oh and the profits are being re-invested to help us all

 

[Geordie Mike]

duty is a fixed tarriff, vat is then 17.5% on that. Given the oil companies don't control the oil price, they aren't making it more expensive. But every rise in the price of oil is compounded by that vat on it

 

[voorhees]

Is it due to more people buying it then the 3 billion increase in profits?

 

[Geordie Mike]

Nope, margins in refining are actually down compared to last year. The hike in profits is because upstream (the part of the business that produces crude oil) is doing better as the oil price is higher. Bizarrely downstream (the refining and selling bit) does worse when there is a sudden jump in price as the final product price takes a while to catch up, so the margin in petrol can be zero for weeks on end.

Oil companies aren't much better or worse than anyone else. They are there to make money, just like tesco or your local newsagent or pub. The scale of the profits is because the industry is so capital expensive. I think sales for e.g. ExxonMobil will be in excess of $500 billion, from which their profits are about $30 billion. If you look at intel or the banking industry revenue : profit you'll see they make more profit compared to sales than an oil company, or a supermarket. I'd guess people selling bottled water has a bigger profit margin than oil.

Ultimately if you don't like the idea of big oil (and there are a lot of people out there who don't) I'm not expecting you to think "wow, I never thought about it like that until you said that". I can't honestly care if you do or not. What I will do is help inform people who don't know and are interested (after poking a bit if I'm bored maybe) in finding out a bit more than the generally incorrect/misleading information given in the mass media. Well, after I get back from holiday anyway.

Mike

 

[quattrojames]

I have been off on paternity leave for two weeks, and towards the tail end of last week when this all started up my car was down to about quarter of a tank of diesel. There was talk of panic buying at the pumps, but with a new baby I decided we wouldn't really be going far so I wouldn't be selfish and fill up unnecessarily.

Well I went back to work today and tried 3 garages in Poole (not an exhaustive search I know but nevertheless) and all three were sold out of all fuel ***. I still have 80 miles on my DTE gauge so I am not desperate yet but thats not the point. If I can't get any tomorrow then I'll not be going to work on Wednesday. So who pays for that tanker drivers? We live in the country so a car is essential - what do i do if my 2 week old daughter needs something, or even worse to be rushed to hospital? Its 20 minutes for an ambulance to reach my village.

So I'm sorry tanker drivers but you have pi$$ed me off. If you don't like your wages get another job like we all have to do. But don't be so selfish as to F#@k up others peoples lives with your childish ideas,

Rant over. Sorry but pi$$ed off!

 

[Just Plain Old]

Interesting. How much money should they make? Just to be fair I should make it clear I work for an oil company, but not shell and not one that sells petrol in the UK

Well............. On the level of turnover I would think anywhere between 3 to 5% Nett. No more.

The duty on fuel is, I would accept, the main problem.

Anyway,,, back to the drivers. I think they are actually very well paid, and should stand back and take a reality check.......... As for the danger,,,, I would think there's a greater risk of death forcing out a stiff ****..!!

 

[auditek]

too true about drivers, if they want more bucks, go get another job, guys at my work always gurning about money, go get another job ***. get fed up of it every day............

 

[motorbikez]

Just a bunch of greedy tossers no point complaining about the ammount of profit( which is inconsequential compared to what our wonderful government is ripping off us in fuel tax and VAT) shell makes, they don't work for shell they work for hoyer uk and suckling transport so they should direct their grievances towards their employer and in the present economic climate be grateful they have a job.

 

[Nickynibbles]

Sorry but I can only commend them for making a stance! All too often we roll over in this country & take it up the jacksy, whatever happened to the days of the miners strike for example when people made a public stand for what they believed in? The French & Spannish are nations that are not afraid to make a seriously disruptive stance to get their point across, and it makes people listen!

Its their right to make a protest and if I hadnt been able to renegotiate a contract in 15 years then i'd be pretty miffed. Yes they get paid a handsome wage in any case but in fairness its a little more dangerous than delivering lettuce to Tesco's for example! There is no way a newly qualified HG1 driver would get a job driving a tanker, it takes experience & for this a premium wage I think is deserved. Certainly the right to renegotiate the wage is a given!

Any form of strike is going to affect someone unfortunately, why go to a BP/Esso/Texaco garage instead as they will be unaffected other than by the higher demand! Just because your usual station is out of fuel dosent mean you shouldnt listen to what the issue is. It was well publicised this was going to happen so if you needed to you could of filled up or just planned to go elsewhere for a change.

 

[quattrojames]

Any form of strike is going to affect someone unfortunately, why go to a BP/Esso/Texaco garage instead as they will be unaffected other than by the higher demand! Just because your usual station is out of fuel dosent mean you shouldnt listen to what the issue is. It was well publicised this was going to happen so if you needed to you could of filled up or just planned to go elsewhere for a change.

I am not disputing anyones right to negotiate a fair wage, but why take it out on innocent members of the public? I am listening to the issue, and am sympathetic to their cause but I'm afraid I do not agree with strike action.

I do not have a 'usual' station - and I tried both Esso and Texaco stations whom were also out of fuel. It was indeed well publicised, but as I said in my post last night I din not need fuel over the weekend and wasn't as selfish as some people panic buying and filling up when I didn't need to. I thought it fairer to let people who were lower on fuel than me and genuinely needed it fill up first. Well I won't make that mistake again.

 

[benw123]

I am not disputing anyones right to negotiate a fair wage, but why take it out on innocent members of the public? I am listening to the issue, and am sympathetic to their cause but I'm afraid I do not agree with strike action.

Absolutely right - couldn't agree more. The problem is with the unions, believing that they can still occupy a space in the 21st Century when oodles of government and EU legislation protect employees far better than they realise these days.

Lorry drivers earn decent money because people in their industry are in demand; even with high oil prices, the amount of goods requiring transportation these days is at an all time high. So if they're not paid enough, it's simple - they should walk away to a job that does.

 

[Nickynibbles]

So if they're not paid enough, it's simple - they should walk away to a job that does.

But these are people who have been driving for a considerable amount of time so are unlikely to have the skills & experience to swap to another job that will pay them £30k+ that easily. Its just not a realistic option in my opinion.

Strike action like this is bound to disrupt things and can sympathize with people who are drastically affected by it, but I support their cause.

 

[unkle]

Absolutely right - couldn't agree more. The problem is with the unions, believing that they can still occupy a space in the 21st Century when oodles of government and EU legislation protect employees far better than they realise these days.

Lorry drivers earn decent money because people in their industry are in demand; even with high oil prices, the amount of goods requiring transportation these days is at an all time high. So if they're not paid enough, it's simple - they should walk away to a job that does.

You've obviously been lucky enough to work for decent companies that treat their staff properly. In my last company it was very 'them and us' and if you werent in the right click you would usually get right royally shafted by the bunch of shitbags that they were.

Unions are there to protect its members, many a time Ive seen a shop steward or union rep overturn an unfair dismissal on a minor technicality or on a grey issue not covered by HR policies and procedures. It also tends to be people near the bottom of the pile doing crap jobs for crap money that need looking after and thats what Unions are there for. (Most Unions reps do the job for free, something which involves out of hours phone calls and travelling to disciplinarys)

If I remember correctly to drive a petrol tanker you need 7 years HGV driving experience and also have a HAZMAT license as well (I could be wrong), theres probably a lot of training that goes with the job as well. On paper its a truck driving job but I would bet the reality is that its quite a skilled job that deserves skilled pay and is also quite stressful too hence their demand for more money. (which I agree with)

An interesting question. Why arent the big supermarket chains and haulage companies (DHL, Stobarts etc etc) kicking up a stink, I havent heard of a CEO or Chairman complaining about the price rises and diesel has gone up about 30p in under a year...

 

[Kontraband]

From about 7am till 9:30am Monday to Friday the roads are packed with people wearing ties that are driving like dicks, driving for a living sucks. (not saying your a ****) and then from 4pm till 6:30pm its Round Two DING! DING! Stay in your office my friend. )

My old man works for Tesco driving artics at night, earns a lot more than 30k and I have another friend who drives for DHL/Wetherspoons, if he does 10 hours overtime on his day off he gets roughly £200 for his troubles. I would guess this is their point, driving frozen chips and burgers pays more than someone driving thousands of gallons of fuel....

I hear that! I was on the road all the time in my last job... (though not wearing a tie, and not driving like a ****) but I get your gist and I'd extend those hours somewhat too

The quote you have doesn't read as in the entire context tho, in that getting over £30k basic is a pretty healthy pay packet in a national average context.... I think we understand each other tho.

 

[quattrojames]

I finally found some diesel today with 10 miles left on my DTE gauge! It was 138.9ppl I saw it at this price in several stations in Poole today. The others were out of fuel.

It's a fact oil companies make next to no money out of selling petrol. There is more profit in a twix.

This is a clear 10ppl increase put on the price by the oil companies over the last 2 days due to the there being insufficient fuel to satisfy demand. As such I hope that the tanker drivers are satisfied, they may have reached a pay deal, but have done with the result that it now costs the average British motorist a fiver more to fill their tank.

Given it's all ****** tax I don't know why people should be anti-oil. How much do you pay for a litre of freshly squeezed orange juice?

I get through about a litre of orange juice a week, as opposed to 50 odd litres of diesel. I buy tropicana as it tastes the best, no idea what it costs, similar to diesel maybe. But if I wanted cheaper juice I could buy tesco own brand for what, 70p a litre? Don't have that option with fuel.:sign_ot:

 

[unkle]

But if I wanted cheaper juice I could buy tesco own brand for what, 70p a litre? Don't have that option with fuel.:sign_ot:

Tesco Value Vegetable Oil *winkwink*

 

[Kontraband]

isnt Biofuel being blamed for world food shortages now tho!

 

[auroan]

If I remember correctly to drive a petrol tanker you need 7 years HGV driving experience and also have a HAZMAT license as well (I could be wrong),

Yup, the experience isn't quite true, but the HAZMAT licence is. But Just holding one doesn't get you a job either. I have a HAZMAT license but mine just covers I, II and III in packages. For fuel tankers you need a different set, the licence only last for 5 years as well, then has to be renew via a refresher course and another test.

 

[TFSI]

Sorry but I can only commend them for making a stance! All too often we roll over in this country & take it up the jacksy, whatever happened to the days of the miners strike for example when people made a public stand for what they believed in? The French & Spannish are nations that are not afraid to make a seriously disruptive stance to get their point across, and it makes people listen!

Its their right to make a protest and if I hadnt been able to renegotiate a contract in 15 years then i'd be pretty miffed. Yes they get paid a handsome wage in any case but in fairness its a little more dangerous than delivering lettuce to Tesco's for example! There is no way a newly qualified HG1 driver would get a job driving a tanker, it takes experience & for this a premium wage I think is deserved. Certainly the right to renegotiate the wage is a given!

Any form of strike is going to affect someone unfortunately, why go to a BP/Esso/Texaco garage instead as they will be unaffected other than by the higher demand! Just because your usual station is out of fuel dosent mean you shouldnt listen to what the issue is. It was well publicised this was going to happen so if you needed to you could of filled up or just planned to go elsewhere for a change.

Dont you believe it my dear ! We have to put interlocks all over their ****** trucks to stop them driving off with the fuel delivery pipes connected and also to apply the handbrake before they open the door. Most of them would not hack it driving in the real industry. A fuel tanker is more dangerous empty rather than full and compared to OTHER stuff on our roads fuel tankers are tame, very tame.

 

[TFSI]

Yup, the experience isn't quite true, but the HAZMAT licence is. But Just holding one doesn't get you a job either. I have a HAZMAT license but mine just covers I, II and III in packages. For fuel tankers you need a different set, the licence only last for 5 years as well, then has to be renew via a refresher course and another test.

Every HGV1 requires renewing every 5 years and the tanker drivers require an ADR licence on top which is a simple 5 day course with a simple written test at the end every 3 years i think, no practical at all.

I applied for a driving job at Shell 19 years ago whilst working for a truck manufacturer and turned it down because of the drop in money and the mind numbing boredom of driving a truck for 40 hours a week. They worked for Shell then, now as said previously they work for Hoyer and Sucklings but alot are ex Shell same as some of Stobarts drivers are ex Tesco.

 

[auroan]

Every HGV1 requires renewing every 5 years and the tanker drivers require an ADR licence on top which is a simple 5 day course with a simple written test at the end every 3 years i think, no practical at all.

Yeah ADR is the proper current name for hazmat. HGV1 license does not need renewing every 5 years in the UK though, unless your over a certain age.

 

[TFSI]

Yeah ADR is the proper current name for hazmat. HGV1 license does not need renewing every 5 years in the UK though, unless your over a certain age.

I must be over that majical age is it 40 or 45 ****** hell where did the last 30 years go

 

[auroan]

Dunno, I'm 27 and I've had my HGV licence since 2001.

 

[TFSI]

I'm 51 and i got mine when i was 23 You took your test in an articulated horse and cart back in them days Time really does race by it just goes quicker and quicker and i have so much left to do.

 

[ian52]

i wish i got that sort of money for building helicopter rotor heads.