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Drivers' lot
Page 24
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REGARDING RICHARD Rimer and Jim Macaulay's letters (CM 1 April) when in 1969 drivers' hours were cut from 14 to 12.5 (maximum) hours in a day (and 11 hours rest in between — no "short" rests), operators accepted it as both social legislation and in the interests of safety
I did not notice them complain when, in the eighties, the government said it had to comply with EU legislation and let their drivers work up to 15-16 hours a day with only 8-9 hours between some shifts. Many did not grant any pay rises at all because drivers worked more hours and therefore mostly earned more
overall. Most other workers worked 10 hours, where
as lorry drivers were put back to the working conditions of the 1950s or 1960s. Come on FTA, your members have had a good cheap ride, but now the party's over! Given the drivers' lot— heart attacks, stress, high blood pressure, strokes, 26 million cars cutting you up, status of the lowest of the low, all so that a packet of cornflakes can be 5p cheaper — you wonder why we can't attract new people into the industry
Perhaps the WTD will help to change that. Alan Fixter Grimsby Lincolnshire