Paolo Marques, a Spanish trucker posted an appeal on the forum for drivers forotransportistas.es. It is a reminder of how important the haulage industry and its employees are for the whole of society and the economy. He compares his day of work with one of the average bread eater working in an office.
3 am:
I get up, take a shower, drink coffee …
4 am:
I’m in a truck, ready to start driving. My day has already begun, you are still asleep …
5 am:
I’m driving and you’re sleeping …
6 am:
I’m driving and you are just getting up and preparing to go out …
8 am:
I’m still driving … and you start your day in the office with coffee and colleagues
10 am:
I reach my client, I start unloading … and you are just starting your 10-minute break
12 pm:
I am going to another customer to load a truck, and you are going to eat something with your work colleagues …
1 pm:
You go back to work and I’m on my way again, without dinner …
2 pm:
I arrive to the third customer for loading
3 pm:
You’re taking a coffee break and I’m setting off again …
5:30 pm:
You leave the office and I’m still driving …
7 pm:
You’re going to eat a meal with your family soon, and I’m still on the road …
8 pm:
You sit on the sofa and play with the children while your wife prepares dinner for you. I finish my work and stop at the parking lot. I’m going to eat, wash and sleep so that I can get back on the road at 5 am. I will try to get home, to my family on Saturday around noon. We have not seen each other for so long … ”
A comparison of the everyday life of a trucker with a day-to-day office worker certainly works on the imagination. The Spaniard continues:
„Angry customers, angry bosses, because there were traffic jams or an accident on the road and I arrived 20-30 minutes late and I’m offended by it.
In the evening, when you go out shopping, although you can not see me, I’m there. Behind the store I unload the goods so that you can buy what you need and when you need it.
If you took a good look at me, I worked 15 hours. And my salary? It’s 2100 euros with allowances.
Would you be ready to work 10, 12 or 15 hours a day and have only 9 hours to sleep, eat and rest?
Would you be ready to be insulted by people who have never seen you in your life? To deal with clients and bosses who have no scruples?
Would you be willing to leave your wife and children for the whole week? To leave on Mondays and return home only on weekends?
I am doing this job because I have it in my blood and I love it, but if I was guided by convenience or a matter of money, I would change it, my friend …
Remember that truck drivers work for you, your comfort and the comfort of your family and all those who do not respect truckers … ”
What do you think about the words of Spaniard? Do you agree with them though in part?
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