Hooray, the load was finally cleared at 4.30pm this afternoon, but 5 boxes where denied due to ecoli tests.
So woke this morning and the tripak (generator) had quit and with running the night heater the truck was totally dead when I tried to start her. It was a bit of a panic as I had to get back to meat inspection and I didnt want a line of trucks in front of me. As it happened the tripak had just tripped a fuse and when reset started to charge the truck batteries, in 30mins I was mobile again.
Met a lad I did my training with at the inspection and was pleased to hear his family had joined him from spain and were very happy in Lethbridge, especially the kids who love school and are showing the Canadians how to play sports properly.
So the big question is Will I Be Paid A Layover ?
In theory yes, through no fault of my own I have sat for over 24hrs which should warrant $150 ($75 for 12hrs). This layover is virtually guaranteed but what happens when you sit for say 10.5hrs. Good question and to be honest it seems like a lottery if you get paid. I can understand waiting for a few hours but begrudge waiting all day to get unloaded,not getting paid for it then having to drive as on paper you have done nothing all day.
Steve whitaker has now taken over the role of monitoring layover requests, whether this means they will be assessed with a bit of understanding I dont know and time will tell.
Ideally the concept of layovers needs to be clarified as it seems literally hit and miss.
I have started a bit in the side bar which will monitor my layover requests and the timescale until I am paid,or not. I know that members of the H&R office staff read this blog so we will see what happens.
2 comments:
Hiya mate,
Just read through your blog. Got a good insight into something that im thinking seriously of doing myself. Sounds like your gettin the same old problems and hitches as in the UK and Europe (apart from that SUPER cold weather!) Customs the same the world over eh! (cant be as bad as the swiss customs tho ?!)
It sounds fantastic seeing all the sights and experiances and your blog has defo encouraged me to get my arse into gear.
Only thing im finding hard to find out is the money i can expect to earn. Half of me is yearning for the experiance, but the other half has to think of the finances. Can you give me any pointers?
Anyway, keep the rubber on the road (or ice, snow or whatever else the road throws at you!) Stay safe an all that...
Mark.
Hi Mark. I have always been up front and honest regarding the hours I work and the money I make.To start with you need enough money to last you 6-8 weeks. This amount depends purely on your lifestyle,and if you smoke or eat "a la carte" every meal. I came with three grand and it was more than enough. Your first 3 months wont be great as you are still learning the ropes and have to pay back your licence but I still earned ample as I am single with no debts. In the early days I was taking home roughly $7-800, now its knocking on $950+ every week.
I dont think anyone makes more than the other as the married lads do a trip in 5.5 days, I take 7 but dont need to reset my hours so really we are doing the same trip in the same length of time but they are getting home to see the family.
Being single I find my money is worth the same in Canada as in the UK, its the states where it adds up and I can easily afford to eat T-Bones every night at $10 a go.
If you send me your email I wont publish it but I will give you a copy of a weeks wage slip which will hopefully put your mind at rest.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Phil
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