Aaron Leventhal, 37, a former co-pilot of a British low-cost airline, lost his job after the company went bankrupt in the aftermath of the coronavirus. His second job he took for his livelihood was as a heavy truck driver. He transports food to and from the UK and European Union (EU) countries, but he is tired because he travels long distances. Instead, wages increased. His current annual salary is £40,000. He earns £10,000 more than he did as a pilot.
In the UK, heavy truck drivers have become precious. At the end of last month, local media such as the BBC and The Times reported one after another about the shortage of large truck drivers experienced by British distribution and transportation companies. According to local media, companies are offering higher salaries than high-ranking executives and are trying hard to 'take a driver'.
According to The Times, Gist, a logistics company that deals with large supermarkets such as Tesco and Morrison, recently offered drivers an annual salary of 56,674 pounds (90 million won). This far exceeds the average annual salary of £40,000 (64 million won) for financial analysts and lawyers, which are considered the highest-paid jobs in the UK, including senior positions at the company.
British supermarket chain 'Waitrose' also offered an annual salary of £53,780 (86 million won), the highest since its inception, in a job posting for truck drivers. Various welfare benefits such as a bonus of £1,000 (1.6 million won) and free admission to the membership lounge were also offered to new hires.
James Clifford, CEO of HGVT, a truck driver training company, said, “Even a freshman can earn more than £60,000 a year.” “Truck drivers are treated like royalty. A huge salary is being offered,” he said.
Brexit, Corona, poor working conditions... triple high
Behind this high salaries of truck drivers lies a shortage of manpower. According to the BBC, there has been a job vacancy of between 90,000 and 100,000 in the UK alone since January, and around 400,000 truck drivers across Europe are struggling.
Experts analyze that it is the result of a combination of two events that occurred in succession last year, the UK's exit from the EU, 'Brexit' and Corona 19.
Among them, Brexit is considered a direct hit. After Brexit, crossing the border between the UK and the EU has become more complex than it used to be. According to the BBC, 2,000 trucks were fined for not submitting immigration documents at the Kent terminal, the gateway to and from the EU, for about three months from January 1, when Brexit was enforced, and the fines collected were £638,000 (1 billion won). ) reaches All costs are borne by the truck drivers. Foreign workers must also obtain a separate permit to stay in the UK.
Foreign workers left one after another due to difficult immigration procedures and residence problems. According to data from the EU Transport Association, around 50,000 truck drivers stopped traveling between the UK and the EU before and after Brexit. According to The Times, of the 14,000 European truck drivers who left the UK last year, only 600 returned. Rob Hollyman, director of British company Youngs, said: "Truck drivers are leaving because of absurd and unnecessary procedures."
The poor working environment, which has been considered a chronic problem, is also pointed out as the cause. According to the Daily Mail, truck drivers drive 9 to 10 hours a day, sleeping in cars, and using restrooms at rest stops. The average age of truck drivers is 55. Because the labor intensity is so high, it is not popular with young people. Transport companies advertise that they "guarantee a work-life balance," but in reality, they don't, the Daily Mail reported.
Closed for Christmas... Consumers suffer the most
Retail stores are also struggling with the lack of truck drivers. Even when customers come, there is nothing to sell.
Food is now in crisis. On the 24th of last month, McDonald's announced that it would remove bottled drinks and milkshakes from his store menu for the time being. The reason was said to be a 'supply chain problem'. This means that the product that was supposed to be imported from the EU did not arrive. KFC and Nandos have stopped operating some stores altogether because they do not have chicken, the main ingredient.
Beverage products such as water and milk have disappeared from supermarket shelves. The liquid type is heavy and takes up a lot of space, but the profit is low, making it the number one exit. Fruits with a lot of weight are also a major target for exclusion.
The bigger problem lies ahead. There are warnings that driver pay increases will lead to inflationary pressures. In particular, concerns about inflation are growing starting from Christmas and the end of the year, when demand for goods is high.
UK retail consortium CEO Helen Dickens said: "So far, disruption has been limited, but things could get worse as Christmas approaches."
“Giving drivers higher wages is not a long-term solution,” said one distribution expert. “The government should allow access to the EU trucking labor market.” The argument is that the government should add this job to the list of 'tribal occupations' and expand the recruitment of overseas personnel. The designation as a tribal occupation will ease restrictions on workers from entering the UK.
On the other hand, some say it is an opportunity to reduce dependence on foreign workers in the truck driver sector. Gerwin Davis, a senior labor market expert at the Certified Human Resources Development Institute (CIPD), a HR and human resource development organization, said, “The limitations of the overseas workforce and the unskilled are exposed. said. UK Economy Minister Kwasi Quarteng also said that he had no plans to expand employment opportunities for overseas workers, saying, "Please do not rely on overseas workers."
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