London, UK: Government must improve HGV driver working conditions to combat shortages, says Rob Wright, executive director at Scala.
“If we want to combat the driver shortage in the long-term, we need to make HGV driving a more appealing career path, particularly for the younger generation and most significantly, for women. Years ago, drivers were well paid and often employed by the major brands on very good terms and conditions. However, with increased competition and a drive to reduce costs, wage levels have been eroded as transport operations have been outsourced with very little profit margin for the logistics operators.
The perfect storm of Brexit and Covid has brought these problems into sharp focus. It is promising to see that some of the larger supermarkets are raising their annual pay in the hope of encouraging people into the job. Waitrose, for example, has increased its salaries to £53,780, plus a £1,000 joining bonus due to a lack of delivery staff. However, if we want to combat the issue in the long term, we need to see more companies introducing long-term increases in driver wages to restore faith in the industry.
Many drivers work very unsociable hours, and they are often required to change those hours every day. Conditions for rests and overnight stays are particularly poor in the UK and this deters most of the population from pursuing a career in HGV driving, particularly among women who only account for 1% of HGV drivers in Britain.
The government needs to listen to HGV drivers and help address their working conditions. While a few examples of good truck stops do exist, we need more of these across the UK. Features such as a 24-hour manned petrol station, showers, a self-service kitchen and laundry facilities are needed by most drivers.
The industry is also failing to attract young people because they are put off by the costs involved in becoming a qualified HGV driver.
Many companies are reluctant to incur the heavy costs when trained drivers might leave once they are qualified. It is vital that we encourage young people into the industry, and the government can make a difference by significantly increasing support in this vital training area. Encouragingly, the Department for Education is investing up to £17m to create new skills bootcamps to train up to 5,000 more people to become HGV drivers. The free, short, intensive courses will train drivers to be road-ready and get a category C or category CE driving licence.
Improvements in all the areas will be critical in making HGV driving a more appealing career path, particularly for the younger generation and for women who’ve always perceived HGV driving as an unsociable and underpaid profession. It is time for real action from companies and the government if we are to tackle the driver shortage crisis in the long term. Companies need to be reviewing pay levels and the T&Cs they are in control of, and the government needs to be looking at how facilities out on road can be improved, and most importantly, how they can support HGV driver training further.
Rob Wright is executive director at Scala, a provider of management services for the supply chain and logistics sector
