Has anyone argued with a fuel tanker driver ?

[angel22 10]

Isn`t £45,000 a year enough for them ! They`re only bleedin` truck drivers at the end of the day. They`re no more skilled than the bloke who delivers to Tescos, and I bet he`s not on anywhere near £45,000 a year basic !

[/b]

 

You have no idea what you're talking about! The strike wasn't just about pay. It was about health and safety. Have you any idea how dangerous driving a tanker can be??

 

Not all tanker drivers earn £45,000 a year! In fact, very few of them do. None of the ones that i deal with on a daily basis earn anywhere near that amount!

 

Tanker driving is a very skilled and dangerous job. Unless you know the ins and outs of the business then you really have no idea exactly what it entails.

 

All the drivers i know are brilliant and they deserve every penny they get.

[ECCOnoob 1,053]

But haven't the powers of the unions being seriously reduced over the years?

what do you suggest, placing a ban on all strike action....I know, lets go back to the victorian times where workers had no rights at all...

 

I wouldn't say they have been reduced that much. Certainly not during the times of our previous government.

 

Lets face it we are still getting the seemingly annual teacher strike, civil service strike, bus driver strike, train driver strike, tube strike, nurses strike.

 

Lets not forget the cabin crew fiasco which nicely crippled BA and now of course the great fuel tanker strike threats.

 

All were over nothing more than pay. Nothing to do with shoddy conditions, nothing to with inhumane workers rights. Just me me me me attitudes over pay and benefits.

 

What exactly did that contribute to the economy? What exectly was the great effect all those brought to general society? NOTHING.

 

Im certainly not saying we should go back to Victorian times. Nor am I saying that unions don't OCCASIONALLY have valid reasons. But nothing in the past few years have had this.

 

Unions are therefore desprate to make a noise and their overpaid leaders particuarly s**t stir to keep the high profile status.

 

When unions return to their origins and are fit for purpose once more. I wont have a problem.

 

Until then I have no shame in saying its about time they got knocked down several pegs.

[ECCOnoob 1,053]

You have no idea what you're talking about! The strike wasn't just about pay. It was about health and safety. Have you any idea how dangerous driving a tanker can be??

 

Not all tanker drivers earn £45,000 a year! In fact, very few of them do. None of the ones that i deal with on a daily basis earn anywhere near that amount!

 

Tanker driving is a very skilled and dangerous job. Unless you know the ins and outs of the business then you really have no idea exactly what it entails.

 

All the drivers i know are brilliant and they deserve every penny they get.

 

Probably about as dangerous as any other HGV vehicle on a road. A crash is a crash. What about the thousands of other people handling dangerous substances, steelworkers, machinists, fork lift drivers carrying hazardous waste, sewage and chemical disposal, firefighters, hospital porters carryng hazard medical waste..... need I go on? Some of those people are on minimum wage.

 

Do they deserve to be out on strike too?

[angel22 10]

Probably about as dangerous as any other HGV vehicle on a road. A crash is a crash. What about the thousands of other people handling dangerous substances, steelworkers, machinists, fork lift drivers carrying hazardous waste, sewage and chemical disposal, firefighters, hospital porters carryng hazard medical waste..... need I go on? Some of those people are on minimum wage.

 

Do they deserve to be out on strike too?

 

Yes, a 'crash is a crash' and i agree that any crash can be dangerous. But a tanker driver doesn't need to actually be driving to be in danger. The tankers are just as much of a risk when stationary. They are carrying thousands of litres of highly flammable substance. This morning while at work i had to go and tell a bloke to put out his cigarrette that he'd just lit while stood right in the middle of the petrol station forecourt!! It's idiots like this that put the tanker drivers in danger.

 

The other jobs you mentioned are also skilled jobs and i have the same attitude towards them as i do to the tanker drivers. If they were to strike, i'd support them too.

Edited April 28, 2012 by angel22

[denlin 12]

Probably about as dangerous as any other HGV vehicle on a road. A crash is a crash. What about the thousands of other people handling dangerous substances, steelworkers, machinists, fork lift drivers carrying hazardous waste, sewage and chemical disposal, firefighters, hospital porters carryng hazard medical waste..... need I go on? Some of those people are on minimum wage.

 

Do they deserve to be out on strike too?

 

Not so, obviously hazardous waste etc is also dangerous, but there is also (in the addition to the potential disaster of a crash)the real risk of a spark at a fuel station from something as simple as some fool using a mobile phone in a filling station which could also cause a major incident. BTW some of the others you mentioned have threatened strikes and firefighters who deserve every penny they get will be on more than minimum wage

[ECCOnoob 1,053]

Yes, a 'crash is a crash' and i agree that any crash can be dangerous. But a tanker driver doesn't need to actually be driving to be in danger. The tankers are just as much of a risk when stationary. They are carrying thousands of litres of highly flammable substance. This morning while at work i had to go and tell a bloke to put out his cigarrette that he'd just lit while stood right in the middle of the petrol station forecourt!! It's idiots like this that put the tanker drivers in danger.

 

The other jobs you mentioned are also skilled jobs and i have the same attitude towards them as i do to the tanker drivers. If they were to strike, i'd support them too.

 

Police officers dont want to be stabbed but some are. Firefighters dont want to be blown up but some are. Manufacture workers dont want to be crushed to death but some are. Airline ground crew dont want to be sucked into an engine but some do.

 

They accept the terms and the salary - Risk of part of the job. What specifically do tanker drivers feel they deserve different?

 

Nowhere has it been made clear. Nobody has actually stated the facts. All that is reported and screamed about is pay.

Edited April 28, 2012 by ECCOnoob

[ECCOnoob 1,053]

Not so, obviously hazardous waste etc is also dangerous, but there is also (in the addition to the potential disaster of a crash)the real risk of a spark at a fuel station from something as simple as some fool using a mobile phone in a filling station which could also cause a major incident. BTW some of the others you mentioned have threatened strikes and firefighters who deserve every penny they get will be on more than minimum wage

 

They may have threatened strikes but they did not get the union push or hysteria tanker drivers have got. Coincidental that Unite knew that a quick whisper about "petrol" and "strikes" would get the wonderful reaction they wanted.

 

I agree firefighters dont get minimum wage but nor do they get anywhere near £45k.

[angel22 10]

'Unlike some other recent strikes, the potential strike by Unite drivers has clear moral and social merit.

 

If held, the strike would specifically not be about pay, but about the practices of the contractors used by big oil companies such as Shell and Esso to transport petrol to forecourts. It is these contracted companies that employ the tanker drivers.

 

Despite the billions of pounds in profits enjoyed by many oil companies, they are increasingly trying to drive down the costs of outsourced contracts. Contracts with the companies that transport oil are now renegotiated every 3-5 years whereas they used to last around 10.

 

In an attempt to win these contracts, the companies that employ the tanker drivers are reducing costs by weakening health and safety training and practices, cutting staff and downgrading terms and conditions.

 

As many tanker drivers have stressed, they are responsible for the transportation of highly flammable liquid – adequate health and safety practices are essential not only for their own safety but for that of the public. Cut backs in health and safety have, for example, led to inadequate training on how to load a fuel tanker safely.'

[angel22 10]

I agree firefighters dont get minimum wage but nor do they get anywhere near £45k.

 

Neither do the majority of tanker drivers.

[denlin 12]

Police officers dont want to be stabbed but some do. Firefighters dont want to be blown up but some are. Manufacture workers dont want to be crushed to death but some do. Airline ground crew dont want to be sucked into an engine but some do.

 

They accept the terms and the salary - Risk of part of the job. What specifically do tanker drivers feel they deserve different?

 

Nowhere has it been made clear. Nobody has actually stated the facts. All that is reported and screamed about is pay.

 

You have just stated that some police officers want to be stabbed. some manufacturing workers want to be crushed to death and some ground crew want to be sucked into engine. Think you need to tweak your wording:hihi:

[ricgem2002 11]

more and more companies are trying to reduce working conditions and treat its employers like slaves. we should all stick together and support any workers who come out on strike. the trouble with people like ecconoob think its ok that we should be gratefull for just having a job.this country needs less people like him

[gnvqsos 10]

I was filling up with fuel this morning and a tanker driver turned up. This was unwelcome really because I`m the kind of person who says what I think and I feel very very negative towards tanker drivers at the moment. Thus it was a struggle to stop myself arguing with him.....

 

They really annoy me for three reasons :

 

1 If I or anyone I know don`t like our jobs or don`t think we`re paid enough we have to go and get another one, simple as. What makes them think they`re so special they don`t have to ?

 

2 If they go on strike they not only affect their employers they affect every single person in the country one way or another, and that`s simply not fair. And I thought they worked for about 10 different companies, how come they can all be in dispute at the same time ? Isn`t that secondary action, which I thought was illegal ?

 

3 Isn`t £45,000 a year enough for them ! They`re only bleedin` truck drivers at the end of the day. They`re no more skilled than the bloke who delivers to Tescos, and I bet he`s not on anywhere near £45,000 a year basic !

 

Has anyone on here been unable to stop themselves arguing with a tanker driver, and what did they reply ?

 

Green with envy?Its no wonder they demand pay rises etc. when people lime you are so dismissive of their status.Only bleedin truck drivers underestimates their role in the economy.

 

And you have no concept of effective industrial action---if no one is affected it fails