The reason engineers get their van home is for the companies benefit NOT the engineers, companies employ engineers in areas close to their customers because due to cost/profit reason's they have centralised there structures.
If engineers were to travel from the companies depots to the majority of customers the company would loose more than half an hour a day ,there would be increased overtime due to excessive travel, extra fuel and slower response times and they would have to have a huge car park,so lets no make out the companies are doing the engineers a favour, we are steadily heading back to Victorian employment law in this country.The bottom line is that the forklift industry in this country is saturated and run by idiots who look short term for their bonus and have no respect for their skilled employees , the recession excuse wont be here for ever.