HGV drivers are leaving the industry in droves because pay has not been adequately addressed and hauliers have been behaving like “dictators”, according to drivers contacting Motor Transport.
They were responding to an alarming study carried out by Nationwide Vehicle Contracts that predicted lorry driving jobs could become extinct by 2029.
The industry is already facing an employment crisis, with the RHA saying 40,000 extra drivers were needed every year for the next five years just to keep up with demand and Logistics UK warning of a potential disaster looming.
The RHA also acknowledged that there was a vital need to invest in training, recruitment and retention across the sector.
One driver, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “No-one wants to know that HGV drivers in Wales have not had a pay rise since 2021 and are nearly on minimum wage.
“We are paid peanuts and are out all the time away from family, with minimum leave and no sick pay.
“Maybe if we were given a decent wage we would not be leaving the industry.”
Another HGV driver, Tom, said the sector had “cut its own throat” with poor conditions and pay, corporate bullying and long hours.
“Make no mistake, there are plenty of HGV drivers out there, they just choose not to take part in this poor employment anymore,” he said.
“A lot have chosen better pay and conditions over taking part in this farcical world of HGV driving.”
He said that any pay increases provided to staff did not match inflation and that if the pay structure, conditions and working hours were addressed then drivers would reappear.
“For years hauliers have been greedy, selfish and unruly, acting in most cases like dictators in their attitudes towards their driving staff,” he added.
“A ‘Well, there’s the gate if you don’t like it’ attitude.”
One Class 1 driver said he thought companies were being too fussy and that he had found it “impossible” even to get in front of recruiters.
“I have some experience, but it looks like it’s not good enough for them,” he said.
“I’m not surprised that it’s become an issue.”
Driver Hire has previously warned of a huge wave of retirements on the horizon, with the majority of the professional driving population now over 50 years old.
John Keelan-Edwards, MD of Driver Hire Training, said: “We don’t have as many drivers from overseas as we once did so we are more reliant on ‘home-grown’ talent.
“Recent government initiatives have been useful, but professional driving as an industry still lacks diversity in a big way.”
Keelan-Edwards believed there were challenges in attracting younger people into the industry, but as one driver pointed out, there may not be much time left to solve the problem:
“It’s time the UK woke up before the goods it wants are not delivered due to there being no truck drivers,” he said.
