For over a decade JBT and carriers alike have paid and treated drivers for what they are, valued employees. We pay them market value as well as contribute to sources; we pay according to the laws and tax code, CPP, EHT, EI, WSIB, vacation pay, stat holidays and benefits.
For all the years that I and many other legitimate business owners have questioned “How so many carriers quote under cost” a reoccurring question that has had us pulling our hair out. We keep trying to find better efficiencies in order to compete, all the while maintaining our equipment and refusing to cut corners. An endless battle as the more we tried the more rates went south and cost continued to rise.
As it turns out the answer was there all this time! Simply put- it wasn’t that they better managed their respective cost they just eliminated it. While we are paying an average of $60,000.00 per driver, respective carriers go the extra mile and pay CPP, EHT, EI, WSIB, vacation pay and stat holiday pay totalling an extra cost of $17,963.60 per driver per year, something both sides simply were not doing.
To put this into perspective a law-abiding carrier of 100 units pays an extra $1.7 million per year over a carrier of same size operating under “Driver Inc.” not to mention the lack of tax dollars and revenue that should have gone to our valued programs such as health care.
To think that hard-working Canadians and good quality businesses across this great nation work so hard and proudly contribute their blood, sweat and tears for universal health coverage, only to find out that so many businesses are not contributing the same.
All these years fighting for fair compensation, only to repeatedly be told “your pricing is too high” and now to find that I was, but not because we were mathematically incorrect; the competition was just taking full advantage of a loophole that cost all Canadians.
I praise all quality carriers and drivers that managed to survive against these odds. I thank our staff and our drivers as we stayed above water through hard work and determination, proudly contributing to our society and our great nation.
Between E-logs and now 2018 T4A’s we finally have an even playing field… or at least we are one step closer to.
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