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Drivers Truckfest ? * UK - They fight to keep on trucking
It's billed as the biggest get-together in the lorry-driving calendar, but this year's Truckfest in Peterborough, in the English Midlands, was a show with a serious side
Peterboroug,UK -BBC News, by Mark Worthington -7 May 2009: -- ... As the main arena reverberated to the sound of monster trucks and motorbikes, away from the action, hundreds of lorry drivers seized a rare chance to meet up and talk... There are more than 400,000 lorries on Britain's roads. The haulage industry touches every corner of the country, and it's an industry under a cloud... As truckers gathered around sizzling barbecues, the conversation was all about unemployment and pay cuts... Almost every driver has a story to tell. For increasing numbers, it's about how they lost their jobs and how they have managed since... According to the Office for National Statistics, 15,255 HGV drivers claimed jobseekers allowance in March 2009, up from just 3,280 the previous year... It means there are now almost five times as many drivers out of work, and the statistics show they are losing their jobs more quickly than almost every other sector... As hauliers struggle to make ends meet, the government is raising fuel duty. In his budget, Alistair Darling announced a rise of 2p per litre from September, then by 1p a litre above inflation each April for the next four years... The Road Haulage Association says this has come at a time when the haulage industry is facing its biggest challenge yet, and that its survival is vital to bringing the country out of recession...
posted by Unknown @ 2:29 PM
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