I am all for trade unions looking after the welfare of their members and making sure they are not exploited but have we all read the comments of Tankertrash
Not so easy. My son, a REME corporal vehicle mechanic is shortly coming out of the army. He has fuel tankers on his licence, as well as just about every other vehicle you can think of, and he looked into this job. Sounds like it's one of those worlds where unless your father and grandfather were tanker drivers, or you have some other influential "in", you can forget it. Closed world, and newcomers are not welcome.
These are not employees on a minimum wage, or workers that are being exploited. They earn
far more than other truck drivers that also carry high risk, high value cargo but we all need fuel and they can very quickly bring this country to a standstill.
Do we genuinely know the real reasons for this threat to consider industrial action? I have read that it is a case of those that are not earning as much as the highest paid drivers want an equal salary. Is this correct?
I dislike with a vengeance these closed shop attitudes by trade unions so perhaps I am bias but I know exactly where Tanker trash is coming from regarding his son.
When I left the Royal Navy I was told I had a wait of three or four months before I could commence training for my new career. Rather than twiddle my thumbs for that brief period I managed to get a job with a large haulage company based in Plymouth. During the interview I asked if being in a trade union was mandatory... 'No this is NOT a closed shop company and the decision is entirely yours!' After having a successful interview I went into the rest room and was immediately approached by the union shop steward who explained how much union dues would be and wanted to know why I had not signed up to join his trade union? It was then explained how failure to join would mean I would NOT be allowed to park my vehicle in the company yard as it 'might' get damaged. I would NEVER get any overtime and numerous other issues that made it clear it was a case of pay up or get out..... I hasten to add this was NOT the UNITE trade union, but it was the largest trade union in the country for transport and working class people. This type of strong arm tactic leaves a bad taste and all that person had to do was explain the benefits the union had to offer and then I may have voluntarily paid out the minimal amount of money that was required
Yes tanker drivers carry petrol or diesel but so what? They are trained to do this work and how would that compare with trucks that carry other dangerous loads or high value cargoes that expose the drivers to injury or being hijacked? (I wonder how much a cargo of fuel is now worth and will we soon be reading about these lorries being hijacked?)
I hope this issue gets resolved but fear that if the government does give in to these unknown demands, will we then see the train drivers walk out? By all means let trade unions protect the rights of their members but where does that line end? Look at our shipping industry, the Liverpool docks which was a huge thriving industry, the car industry and countless others that have been allegedly killed off... Open cast coal mines where coal is on the surface but it is cheaper to import coal from Canada rather then recover our own black gold!! Hopefully some of our military might get the required experience and who knows the 'rules' regarding recruitment might be relaxed.