The claim does come amid a host of logistics companies and retailers offering bonuses and improved terms. Moreover, research from job website Indeed states that salaries for driving jobs have risen over seven times faster than the average wage growth recorded for all jobs in the UK.
However, at the same time there are plenty of recent examples of frustration over the rates of pay currently received by lorry drivers. In the last few weeks, drivers working for Yodel, DHL, GXO and Booker Retail Partners have been balloted for strike action by unions, all of whom cite poor wages as their motivation for threatening industrial action.
So is the claim that lorry drivers are ‘low paid’ indeed a “myth” as the Sun writes? Ultimately, the answer is open to one’s personal interpretation and what one would consider 'low pay'.
We shall nonetheless look at some of the data available and allow you to draw you own conclusions.
As recently as last week, the UK’s Office for National Statistics published figures showing that the average weekly earnings for total pay in June 2021 was £576.
Multiply those earnings by 52, and you end up with the sum of £29,952. A brief scan on the Indeed website shows many job postings offering annual salaries well in excess of that figure, which suggests that lorry driver pay is above average.
As truckers know themselves, it isn’t that simple though. There’s the obvious question of hours worked – many drivers frequently work hours well beyond the usual 8-hour shifts most officer or retail staff would typically have. On top of that, there’s the costs of being a driver, whether it be training, medicals or insurance.
Therefore, looking at hourly rates of pay may be a better means at which to compare salaries of lorry drivers to other professions.
If we divide the ONS average weekly earnings by 40 (a method that admittedly has its flaws), we end up with an average of £14.40 per hour. Alternatively, one may look at average hourly wage from 2020, which pay and work analysts Payspective say was £16.60.
Returning to the Indeed website, the HGV driver job offers with clearly stated hourly pay rates are more often than not below these figures – though there are a fair amount of exceptions.
All things considered then, there appears to have been an improvement in wages as a result of the driver shortage. That said, is it accurate to refer to low wages in the UK’s haulage industry as a “myth”?
Given the recent threats of strike action, as well as some of the less attractive job offers available online, it seems fair to say that low-paid British truck drivers can’t be considered mythological like dragons or unicorns.
Do you agree with The Sun that low pay in the UK haulage industry is a myth? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Photo: publicdomainpictures.net / Licence: CC0 Public Domain
