scrubbedexpat133

Just to add a bit of Balance for the East....I live in Moncton NB and have been here 3 years...I run all over US and CA. I av 6 - 10 days out with some shorter triangle runs and some longer coast to coast. It all really depends on what you want and why you are coming here. I agree the triangle is a pain if doing NY/NJ but Boston - TO - NB is easy enough.
Yes the money is better out West however if you (like me) are arriving with very little money in your pocket (ie no house to sell in the UK just few k savings) then owning a decent house in the west might be difficult. My wages are around 60k Mrs making roughly 25k... a brand new 3 bed semi will cost you around 150k - 160k here so VERY affordable. Now do the same numbers for equivalent jobs in the west and the ratio will almost certainly be more than 2:1. Its very easy to lose sight of what we worked for in the UK. I worked in Southampton on nights earning £28k - 3 bed house £200k - so roughly 7:1. I know blokes back home who cant get jobs paying more than 7 quid an hour so easy to get snobby about the money over here.

Is the East paradise?? no, But then look at the crime stats for Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg -parts of them not paradise either. Can you have a better life than in the UK ??? Of course - if its what you want....the grass isnt always greener...just a different shade - its whether you like different.

You have to be clear about what you want and why you are coming here. Otherwise its likely to end in tears.

garvs11

I would agree you can certainly do ok in the east, i know of some who came with absolutely nothing and have done fantastically well.If you manage your money properly you can certainly do well.Like i said one guy although worked extremely hard earnt 60,000 cdn realistically 50,000 would be a target you could reach even i wasnt far of that mark.Being near the coast is something that really appealed to me and your definately not spolit some some lovely scenery.If you can get with a haulier that can give you varying runs ie not just the triangle it can be pretty good although again i enjoyed driving the east coast of the US the traffic never bothering me it was the back hauls back to Toronto and back east which did my head in.

Gazman

That's exactly why I started this thread, to ask that question exactly . I really don't like sitting around, but am willing to do so on behalf of the company...so long as the company pay me for doing so.
If I'm going to be sitting around and not get paid for it, then I'd prefer to sit around on the beach, in the pub or anywhere else you could imagine. But if I'm sitting around in a truck owned by a company -delayed for whatever reason- then I would expect to get paid for this...Is it wrong of me to expect a Canadian employer to pay me when I'm sitting around in their truck waiting for them to get me rolling???

mickfly

I did 5 months with H&R and sat around unpaid a lot, either without a dispatch, waiting for loads, broke down or on forced resets.

Hated it!

Is it still happening there?

I suspect it is to some extent, but some people will take it as they want PR.

I did 12 months with another company and was kept rolling, if not, they do paid layover, BUT not for the first 24 hrs. It was very uncommon to be stood too long with them in my case.
Waiting to be unloaded at the mines or delays elsewhere would make me request hourly pay, and usually get it.
Breakdowns away from home are different, layover, motel and food money, no problem.

Loved it at that company (Watt and Stewart) and would go back in a breath (still might).

There are some crap companies out there, and it seems to be mainly the reefer ones.

Don't believe a promise, even in black and white.

garvs11

You get paid per mile buddy,there will be times with most companies at some point while your waiting to tip or load that you will feel your not earning anything.The North American trucking way is totally different to Europe, look at each company and what pay structure each have some pay for all drops and picks some dont most will only pay a layover after 24 hrs thats the way it is.Again it all depends on what sort of work you do Reefer work does involve waiting for loading etc we could spend 10/15 waiting to load at Del Monte Philly (unpaid)again tipping or loading at Loblaws was the same.You will have to see if the company pays for waiting time after a certain amount of time but believe me alot dont.One example for you is, it could take us 4.5 days to do an east coast triangle thats PEI to New Jersey New jersey to Toronto,Toronto back to the maritmes whether it be Moncton
or Pei roughly 2500 miles, the same trip could take 7 days with loading tipping delays etc you would get thge same pay.

mickfly

That is unacceptable, and why only desperate Canadians or Temp Foreign Workers will work for some of theses types of companies, and because it is accepted, it continues.
I wouldn't accept it so I packed in with them, then I had a near miss with another company where a mate went over to work for them (First Continental) and they were a disaster, so I declined to go.

My blog is an accurate account of my time in Canada...
http://cathincanada.blogspot.co.uk/

garvs11

Mick I totally agree but its facts that how it is with some, the guy wanted some facts thats what he got.You had a crap time at H&R, i sopke to some off there drivers when i was out there who had been there for a good number of years and they had no problems with them, it suits some it doesnt suit all.Its the same with Watt and Stewart alot of people wont go near a flat deck work but you loved it,but if its that good why do they have to have Immigrant workers.

Gazman

I'll tell you exactly why I'm coming. I've spent the past 25+ years bumming around enjoying myself and paying for it through the flexibility that I had as a truck driver with no family or mortgage to consider.
I wouldn't change the way I've done it for a moment because I've seen so much and enjoyed it a lot. BUT, I have made absolutely no provision for my old age, I have no property, I have no personal pension arrangement, and I must now spend the next 20-ish years putting some of that right so that I've got at least a modest amount to live on when I'm pushing around my zimmer-frame.
The word 'modest' is key here. I don't want paradise!, I would be irritated by an 'easy life', I thrive on a bit of a struggle and perhaps that's exactly why NB has caught my attention. Most people seem to be slagging the place off as almost 'not a worthy province of Canada' but from the research I've done I think it has a lot to offer, particularly towards me as an individual with modest aspirations and a fondness for the coast.
What's confusing me now is talk of big money to be made in AB for example...and I'm wondering whether perhaps 5-10 years there would get me get a big stock of savings behind me to settle wherever I choose...

kb33

Easier said than done , Most who come a across have wives that love the place , kids in school , Usually a lot of money as gone in to the move and if your in Alberta you just cant swap companies on a TWP, It was easier for you as you were on a paid sight seeing trip with your wife , And probably had no intention of getting PR . So basically no commitment to the move . Its a lot harder for most just to up sticks and go home .

mickfly

They need immigrant workers because many Canadians can't or won't go south, the high earning (for now) Oil Patch is just up the road, and most journeys at W&S take you away from home for about 7/10 days which, when you can get high 'city work' rates in AB, is not too attractive. They are my opinions, yo would need to ask some Canadians why they avoid certain companies.

garvs11

I see i was wondering, what i heard from yourself etc they seem to look after drivers well.I kinda liked the runs you used to do especially down to the Carolinas being away was what i wanted (US).The only thing that might do my head in would be the running with Pilot cars and permits wide load etc i kinda like doing my own thing if you know what i mean and not being tied to regulations of those sort of loads.Maybe food for thought in the Future you never know

mickfly

[QUOTE=kb33;10467766] Quite true,we were effectivley paid sight seeing (when we were dispatched), and yes, you can swap companies, but it can be a pain.

Wife and kids loving the place does not stand for anything if you aren't earning enough to keep them, and yes it's a lot harder for families to up sticks and go home, and we know many that had no choice but to do that.

We did consider PR, but decided against it ALTHOUGH if I had been at W&S in Claresholm originally, we probably would have gone down that line, but I told the boss there before we went over that we would not be pursuing PR (I think I'm too old at 55 this spring).

I never saw people going to work off shore on the Scottish Rigs being criticised for not wanting to live in Scotch, and just going up there to earn a few Bob.

mickfly

Gazman, as a single man (if you live in the truck) you should do OK, AS LONG AS YOU GET DISPATCHED!

Gazman

You seem to have accepted that this is the way it is, but I'm looking for an alternative. I would never sit in the company's truck for 15 hours and not get paid, not a chance!.
I read recently that Canada is seeking to recruit 37,000 truck drivers per year just to keep up with existing growth forecasts,...If I really can't find an alternative to what you're suggesting then the Canadian trucking industries are going to have to think again about how they might attract drivers for these posts.

Gazman

Dispatched??? what's that
...