> There really is no good reason why the average software developer should be paid more than an HGV driver while enjoying much better working conditions.

There really is. Computers will blindly obey orders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can be scaled pretty much indefinitely. So those capable of giving computers orders are in a position to do a large amount of important work, with little effort.

Truck drivers can only do a relatively small amount of work at a given time. Trucks have a limit to the volume of weight they can carry, and the speeds that they may travel to carry it. Thus, their work per hour is capped to a very modest amount. Since there's no real efficiencies to be gained, the only way to improve wages for drivers is to increase the cost of goods by a proportional amount.

Replacing fuel delivery via truck with fuel delivery via pipeline would make things much more efficient, but seems like a waste of resources given that EVs are taking off.

It's not fair, but it is reality. Any profession whose labor cannot be augmented by technological efficiencies is likely going to face the same economic realities. They either go up-market and serve only those who can pay reasonable prices for their services, they get their wages and status slashed in a cut-throat environment, or they are displaced by an inferior, machine-driven replacement.

Britain treats it's HGV drivers like crap. Long unsociable hours, low status, lack of facilities and relatively low pay considering how responsible the job is. I was horried to find that some (all?) of them don't even get paid for their mandatory breaks. Why would anyone put up with that, if they had any choice?

The reason software developers get paid more is that it is a lot harder for an average person to become a software developer than it is to get an HGV license. Basically anybody not suffering from mental impairment could master the skills for that license. That is not true of software development, and it also takes longer.