Quote Originally Posted by Poopadoop View Post
I think the word you're looking for is "responsibility," and fine, it's more responsibility than say, being a shop clerk.

It's still not on the level of responsibility of, say, a nurse, a doctor, a fireman, a policeman, etc. I mean no-one thinks of it as a job where you're regularly making life-or-death decisions. Just drive the bus and don't hit people with it. It doesn't take a superhero to do that.
Well the same could be said about HGV drivers, assuming they're not driving tankers filled with petrol anyway. But we at least recognise the economic importance of a HGV driver. A bus driver is equally as important, people need to travel for the economy to function properly, and busses provide a low budget option suitable for cities and towns.

And I'm not disputing that there are more important jobs out there, not sure why you're focussing on doctors and the like. I'm not suggesting these people should be paid minimum wage.

There's a little thing called the EU that means when there's a shortage of labour in one or two countries, it can be filled by labour from the remaining countries.
The shortage is widespread across the continent, I just named the countries comparable to the UK.

So yeah, it's mostly Brexit, if not entirely Brexit, that is causing this latest mess.
You're actually in the minority who thinks this, it seems. Most observers, from what I can tell, consider Brexit to be a minor factor, accounting for a few thousand absent drivers.

The gov't can't fix the problem without fixing Brexit.
What do you mean by "fixing" Brexit? Reversing our decision to leave? Or managing the transition better? If it's the latter, I agree.

And they can't fix Brexit without admitting it was a dumb idea in the first place.
This is you applying your bias to what should be an objective discussion. You absolutely do not need to admit that it was "dumb" because it assumes everyone thinks like you do.

Maybe they should have thought of that before things got to the point where we were dumping raw sewage into our waterways.
This implies you're acutely aware this is about management, not the decision to leave. Had the govt improved working conditions for HGV in advance, we wouldn't have such a problem.

Also, how many of those people have they managed to entice back into driving a HGV?
No idea, if you find figures let me know.

Cause I assume if they're fully qualified they've already chosen a different career path.
Indeed, like driving white vans instead.

I mean I'm fully qualified to pour drinks...
Me too, and if this was an economically essential job, and the govt were offering me £30 an hour to pour drinks, I'd very probably consider getting off my arse and getting a job. Unfortunately it's not an economically essential job and it remains a shit minimum wage job suitable for students, not 40+ y/o men.