England's catastrophic loss of truck (lorry) drivers---why this week?

In My Humble Opinion
41

$60k a year for a job that has you away from home for weeks at a time, meaning you have to purchase all your food on the road among other expenses, and carries some actual risk (theft, assault, road accident) is a shit wage.

I didn’t say “just pay everyone more”. I also mentioned humane working conditions. Some Amazon drivers are reporting that they simply do not have time to take a piss during their shifts. If so, that’s appalling regardless of how much you’re paying a worker. For long-haul/heavy goods truckers do they have adequate rest periods to truly rest up and be properly alert? Are they forced to sit at loading docks, unpaid, while waiting for loading or unloading? Even worse if that waiting is literally outside in foul weather.

I don’t want to digress into other industries, but it’s NOT just about the money, it’s also the working conditions.

That is, frankly, bullshit.

As just one example - Texas now values the life of an unborn human being above the life of a pregnant women. The wealthy abandon the poor to hurricanes and floods. Those who own homes all too often try to criminalize being homeless. Missing young White women get far, far more media attention and concern than any other form of missing person. And on and on.

It is very clear that some human lives are valued more than others by our current society.

I’m not being “morally indigent” about it, I’m pointing out the flaw in your logic.

If you value truck driving at, say, $25/hour and no one is willing to do the job for that amount then your calculation is wrong. Supply and demand. When the supply of truck drivers exceeds demand then those who hire them can set prices. When the supply of truck driving jobs exceed the number of truckers then the truckers set the prices. That’s how capitalism works. It’s just that it’s been so long since workers had power the owners have forgotten this.

There are currently more jobs than truckers. The truckers can therefore pick and choose those jobs which not only pay better, but ALSO have better working conditions - real rest breaks, more predictable schedules, not being treated like shit by management, etc. It’s not just the money.

One more time - It’s not just the money. If that higher wage comes with yet more demands, more punishing schedules, inhumane/unsafe conditions, etc. then it’s no good deal. The same wage but with better conditions (which yes, will cost the employer more, but either way in this scenario the employer is going to pay, one way or another) might actually get workers willing to do the job.

I have no doubt some owners are going wail they can’t stay in business under these conditions. Then let them fail. Stop propping up bad businesses. New solutions will be found, or someone will figure how to actually make it work, or we will all have to get used to truly buying more that’s local and paying more for what comes from a great distance.

42

No, the point was that the loss of the possibility of additional earnings for UK drivers from cabotage in the EU is an additional factor contributing to the number of drivers dropping out and not being recruited.

We’re being told that there is no shortage of fuel in UK refineries, the problems are in getting enough from the refineries to the retail outlets (all within the UK) in enough volume and at enough speed to keep up with the demand from panic buying.

As to which minister is going to take the blame for starting the panic, à la Edwina Currie, who knows? There’s no shortage of candidates from this government for the “failed politician” slot on Strictly Come Dancing.

43

The idea that all human lives are worth the same is not an idea I consider bullshit. I think it’s an incredible central idea to being a decent human being. The fact some people disagree with me means they’re bad people.

But we’re talking about pay, not the inherent worth of a human. Confusing those things means valuing people according to their jobs, which is wrong.

Well, okay, that’s what’s actually happening. No one is propping up the carrier business; it’s a ferociously competitive industry that gets few breaks from government.

44

My inherent worth doesn’t pay my mortgage, buy my food, or give my child a quality education, money does. If my boss genuinely, to the core of his soul, believes I’m a valued human being, but will only pay me $8 to consume an hour of my life for his business, I know what part of that relationship actually matters.

All businesses are ferociously competitive, which is why the ‘let the market sort it out’ people are so wrong. Without collective thought, all businesses are pressured to extract every dollar possible, and it always will tend to come from those with the least bargaining power, the workers. Without collective thought, businesses don’t plan for unusual situations, because any assets they direct towards something other than competing right now, makes them vulnerable to be put out of business entirely.

45

Germans based in the UK were sent a letter by the Department for Transport, signed by transport minister Baroness Vere, asking them to “consider returning” to the HGV driving sector.

The letter states: “Your valuable skills and experience have never been more needed than they are now.

“There are fantastic HGV driving opportunities in the logistics industry and conditions of employment have been improving across the sector. As well as attractive pay rates, we are seeing more options for flexible working, fixed hours, fixed days, full time and part time.”

German driving licences issued before 1999 include an entitlement to drive a small to medium-sized truck of up to 7.5 tonnes. It is understood that almost all Germans residing in the UK who hold such a licence have been sent the letter, almost none of whom have ever driven an HGV before.

:rofl:  

46

Good post, and Britain’s problems are part of a broader global concern that the global supply chain as we know it is severely stressed and may be approaching a total breakdown. Some are advocating for the easing of restrictions for workers at key choke points.

47

I thought RJ’s logic was pretty solid. I see your point, but I think that this is somewhat novel problem. It seems that it’s a more complex issue than workers feeling like they’re underpaid.

48

One million letters! The stamps alone should have cost close to a million quid. Pity I don’t live in Britain (actually: no), I obtained my German driving license prior to 1999, I would have gotten one such letter from the Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Minister for roads, buses and places too! That is a thing to frame and hang up in the guest toilet.

49

Eventually, enough people will figure out that for global capital to work over the long term, we need global labor. Restricting people because of petty things like where they happened to be born is making all of us worse off.

50

True; I kind of think that a lot of what we’re seeing labor shortage-wise is a result of the pandemic and associated stimulus/relief allowing a lot of people who had the “tiger by the tail” in terms of sub-optimal jobs and couldn’t let go for financial/time reasons (they didn’t like their jobs and they weren’t paid enough, but also didn’t have the time or resources to go get a better one), to actually let go of the tiger’s tail without worrying about getting bit.

So now we’re seeing this for a number of relatively low paid and otherwise unsavory jobs- here in Dallas, we’ve had a shortage of trashmen for a while now during the pandemic. We’ve also seen fast food and grocery worker shortages. All of which are relatively low paid jobs with poor working conditions. Basically what happened is that it’s a seller’s market for labor right now, but employers haven’t adjusted quite yet, or if they have, those adjustments haven’t taken effect.

The long-term solution is to raise wages to attract people willing to be trashmen or sling burgers or drive trucks despite the conditions, and in preference to other, more cushy jobs. Previously, those were more than likely jobs with high turnover, but since there were always people who were somewhat desperate to have income, employers were never forced to adjust anything- someone was always willing to do the job for that pay and in those conditions. But now that’s not the case, so employers are going to have to sweeten the pot.

What I’m curious about is where this big pool of unfilled jobs was- surely these people who used to work in fast food, truck driving, and sanitation are working somewhere else now?

51

And your worth as a human has nothing to do with your worth as a worker. It’s why we need social programs to help people who can’t work or who can’t afford food, housing, and the other necessities of life - because a person does not stop being worth something if they cannot work. It’s why minimum wage and other labour protection laws are required so people who have little to no negotiating power for their labour are not exploited. They’re worth just as much as someone who does, even if their labour is not.

Yes, we have to sometime interfere in the free market, but to do so intelligently requires an intelligent examination of the facts.

52

And there you have yet another problem. Many of the people doing those jobs were old and have decided that they don’t want to go back when they can live on savings and pensions.

53

Also, as I noted, we’ve lost 160,000 people in the “working age” 18-64 demographic to this virus (that’s on top of normal attrition from accidents and other illnesses), and that loss was concentrated in the very professions that seem to be among the short-of-workers group.

I’ll drop in a link to the economic consequences of the Black Death. The situation of course differed in many particulars but the same effect of worker shortage, upper class resistance to raising wages, inflation, migrations, and economic upheaval looks a bit familiar. It will probably look even more familiar a year or two further down the line.

Add in climate change and we should be living in very interesting times in the near future.

54

I think in the long term, this is a good thing for the economy; by moving people up the pay scale, and forcing employers to pay more on the lower end, we drive more money through the economy in terms of consumer spending, which is almost always a positive thing. And we also likely bring up the wage floor in many industries as well, which is good for the people working there.

But right now, the way I envision this is that these are the hairs getting ripped off as the pandemic rips the band-aid off. Temporary, but painful.

55

There’s an opinion piece in the NY Times today that discusses the reasons behind the crisis, as well as other anticipated upcoming problems. Probably paywalled, but worth a read if you can get it. Note again that it is an OPINION piece, but it also links to lots of other reporting. Some highlights:

A dramatic fuel crisis, caused in large part by a lack of truck drivers and which at its peak forced around a third of all gas stations to close, is only the most glaring concern.

A convergence of problems — a global gas shortage, rising energy and food prices, supply-chain issues and the Conservatives’ decision to slash welfare — has cast the country’s future in darkness. Even Mr. Johnson, known for his boosterish optimism and bonhomie, has struggled to make light of the situation.

One of the main causes of this predicament is Brexit, or at least the government’s handling of Brexit. Britain’s protracted departure from the bloc, undertaken without any real effort by Mr. Johnson to ensure a smooth transition, led to an exodus of European workers — a process then compounded by the pandemic. As many as 1.3 million overseas nationals left Britain between July 2019 and September 2020.

Yet as it became clear that Britain faced substantial shortages in labor, the Conservatives refused to respond. They bloviated, calling it a “manufactured situation.” They prevaricated, assuring the public there was nothing to worry about. And, seeing the chance to recast their negligence as benevolence, they claimed their failure to act was because they wanted companies to pay British workers more, instead of relying on cheap foreign labor.

The author concludes, however:

But Mr. Johnson is unlikely to bear the consequences of his actions. His government, resting on a large majority, remains secure. And for him, crises are always opportunities. A master shape-shifter, unburdened by any sense of accountability or honesty, he thrives in conditions of adversity. The rest of the country won’t be so lucky.

56

Secure for how long?
If millions of average people can’t get their Christmas turkey , that seems like a very serious problem for the Conservative party…
People may not care about vague issues that don’t affect them directly (such as tariffs, or budgets). But when it hits you at home, at your dinner table, on the most important family event of the year, that’s personal.
A couple years from now on election day, nobody will remember issues such as tax laws or heavy vehicle licenses. But everybody will remember having their Christmas ruined.

And the natural thing to do is blame the party who was in charge, and thus vote Boris out of power.

Am I not understanding something?

57

Moderator Action

This is getting outside of the bounds of GQ. Since the factual aspects of the OP have been addressed, let’s move the thread to IMHO.

58

I’m not well versed enough in British politics to answer this. Note that the quote you have attributed to me is actually that of Samuel Earle, whom I was quoting. So that’s his prediction, not mine.

That said, from what I do know of British politics, Johnson has a history of failing upward quite spectacularly and the Labour party does not seem to be in much of a place to challenge him at the moment, so that could be what Earle was thinking.

59

No. But a lot depends on just how jittery Johnson’s backbenchers get about their prospects of re-election - and the ambitious in his cabinet (but so far nobody’s too obviously “on manoeuvres”, and anyway they’re all implicated in the key decisions, or lack of them, that got us here)

BJ himself believes he can wing his way through any problem.

60

I meet up with some HR representatives at various job fairs here in Arkansas and we talk. One of the company’s had a turnover rate of over 100% for their drivers. If you’re unfamiliar, turnover rate is the percentage of employees who leave the company over the year. I thought that sounded outrageous but a 90% turnover rate is about average these days.