Some people ..

[fossie]

Now this isn't Kat related , but I believe it has some interest ..
So the company I work for has A Lab ooop norf ( which is my location) which has always been cards in ..it works well and is a small group of 7 couriers
3 on bikes ( now DL650 v strom ) and the rest in Hybrid Toyota. ( There have been other bikes ..some much ,much worse than others and the same for Vans.)
** Just a note here because they(London ..see following text) got a 74 plate bike so did we , but the old bikes are so good that even with 100,000 + on the clocks the other riders want to buy them from the company as their own bikes .. Not me , Why pay tax when my own bikes are historic ..

Due to recent legal reasoning giving Uber etc holiday and sick pay when they are clearly self employed the status quo at the London office has had to change and the riders and drivers will all have to be PAYE..all 100 of them
The focus is on the riders here because , I or we oop norf can't believe their s**ding attitude at all .
They have been supplied with a brand new 74 plate Vstrom ..with top box , panniers , heated grips, crash bars with spotlights because they insisted that they were so essential they weren't going to risk their lives without them . .handlebar muffs and hand guards , same comment previous obviously scottoiler and centre stand .... ON top of this they all get A Shoei neotec flip front helmet with fitted Senna bluetooth unit (£600) a full set of the latest Spada all season touring jacket and trousers...A bit of kit that Spada designed after visiting us OOP norf to get our take and adjust before production and is only coming into the shops now ..we are the first . A full set of waterproofs .Altberg boots
All free ..A fuel card , Fully insured and with recovery ..arranged locally to their (Londons) nominated repair agent ..

You know what the f***ers are whinying on ..They can't get through traffic with panniers and want bigger top boxes ..the muffs are wrong and they want these leg covers that you see on scooters ... F***ing fairies..
The panniers are so they can carry the spill kit , the puncture repair kit , the airpump all paid for of course, aswell as the ever increasing number of samples that need collecting.
We've manged oop 'ere for 12 years .. We don't go scurryung back to the lab 'cos it's raining hard , we don't sit at the side of the road because we've got a puncture ..( normally 2 amonth ) No we repair it and are on our way doing our job getting the samples to the lab with in the hour , as we are paid to do...
The difference , WE oop norf are firstly EX servicemen , but more importantly we were self employed couriers before this , and appreciate that if the bike needs a service we don't have to do it on a Friday night or over the weekend , if something breaks someone else will pay , The clothing proved is so outside any budget I could afford ..even if I wouldn't choose that Helmet myself , it one of the best and free!!
Who would not be Wow my wages are all mine.. I'll tell you,people who are not in the main motorcycle couriers , but people who have arrived on these shores and have never had to do the job properly ...Oh and they live down sarf!!

[tigcraft]

I can see the problem here, there seems to be some sort of divide………
Luckily I’m at the real hard end……
Brrrrrrrrrr it’s cold up here

[lomsavage]

It is nothing to do with Uber
HMRC have always said that couriers were NOT sub contractors, this is true, In the 80's/90's most courier companies "insisted" you work only for them, as such employees
As for the North/South divide, there were a LOT of hard working couriers on both sides.
And as for the "ex servicemen" stuff is BS, most couriers in Manchester in 80's/90's were not.
You seem to have a very (personal) view of something that your "facts" do not justify.
I guess you will be voting Reform too, just MY view.
You were NOT the only person who was a courier in Manchester in the 80's/90's and your opinions/views of things are at least "dubious",

(guess this gets Me kicked from forum too as I disagree with our "Lord and Master")

[lomsavage]

Just for "context"
In late 80's early90's in Manchester there were a few courier companies, Pony, 2 x Speed and Moves,
Moves were a "cards in set up" rest were "subbies"
I don't know when you entered the game (maybe Comet)
But essentially all you said in initial post is BS
Feel good you have a job and stop slating others, ( and quit with the rascist BS) it does you no credit

[fossie]

Wow wow ..read the text mate I am not generalising about couriers at all..It's about the company that I work for..the north south divide is us in Salford and Those working from the London office and how because of circumstances that have arisen from the court ruling how those lads who are subbies are now going Cards in ..weather like it or not. And how they are pushing back not seeing the benefits...
The ex serviceman comment is a fact .At our location we are all ex servicemen ...I at no point did I say couriers were ...infact
not many at all I should imagine ...They've got proper jobs .
To address your racist comment ...It wasn't, merely an observation that those lads in London are mostly and I mean mostly, lads who've come over here from elsewhere and needed a job and like all of us who got in this game , it was a simple choice of I can ride a bike ...no experience needed..some have been doing it for years and some not so long , but they have never needed to do circuit work , They have not had the joy of standing by for hours for the next across town that'll take you the opposite side of town just before your offered a distance job that'll mean getting in at 10pm.
Just for context...
I started with Diamond dispatch is '93 , moved to Comet in '94 stayed there until in closed and went to Speed in 2009 all selfemployed or as a subbie I joined this crowd as cards in in 2012 ...So I am qualified to compare ..

[Uncle Bob]

Totally off topic but your comment of "At our location we are all ex servicemen" brought back some memories. Back when I worked at Shell ExPro in the 90's, all the offshore Comms guys were all ex military, and that is where any knowledge of the ex services people I have comes from (so I apologise now!) and I found that:

the Army guy was great, ask him to do anything and it was done, no waiting around or excuses, the "book" was a guide not rules
the RAF guys thought they were better than anyone else, but always had to do everything by the book so jobs took ages to do
the Navy guy (OK it was only the one!) talked a good job but that was about it (he once complained I had used white tie wraps instead of black and that the UV would degrade them quicker, in a locked Comms Room. Where the lights were normally off. And it had no Windows!)

So when you say ex Servicemen (no women?) I suspect you mean ex Army I still have fond memories of the Army guy, we was shortish and his last name was Little which used to provide amusement for us! I pulled of one of my all time best pranks on him, which I won't bore you with as it was techy, but it did cause the dept more amusement for nearly a whole day.

Again apologies to any navy / RAF on here, I do only have this limited experience as I said! I'm sure Kryten has some experiences as well...

UB

[lomsavage]

Your "new job" is nothing like being a DR in the 80's/90's
Then it was waiting/hoping for a good job, (distance wasn't the thing, it was doubles/trebles or quick ones)
I earned more as a "city bike" (Pony) than I ever did as a circuit rider.
You are no longer a DR, you are at best a "glorified" Asda/Tesco delivery driver
The whole DR thing is dead,
Life progresses, admit it and stop trying to make your job as something "special"

In the 80's/90's it was (almost) a badge of honour, now it is "just another job"

[fossie]

At what point did I was something special ...never ..I have done the whole DR scene ..and I didn't do distance after year 2 simply because it didn't and doesn't pay, I specialised in max 50 miles radius to ensure best paid jobs, also my Dispatch bikes were 24 hr because when I got home Smand rode it to her job while I looked after the girls..... Anyway the point of the post wasn't to big me or my job up ,it was to point out that even though these lads are getting everything free they want more .
And for your info yes life has moved on and all the riders who have been with the company as subbies are now entitled to sick pay and holiday pay because of the court ruling ..some have taken pay in lieu some are on holiday (paid for a year because it was back dated.).. hence them now going cards in ..
Glorified Asda driver it one way to put it but Asda drivers don't ride a motorcycle 12 hours aday in all weathers ..Also getting transfusion blood to a private hospital within the hour or getting a sample from King street to Salford within 15 mins may be a struggle.
Mate, my job is very simple riding round on a motorcycle, listening to Rock radio , talking to nurses and receptionists and getting paid to do it.. I've never ever said it was owt else.

[johnr]

fucking hell, this is all getting a bit brutal and personal. calm the fuck down guys, its just the internet.....

[sparki]

well fuck me that escalated lol