TWU truck convoy over road safety concerns

The Transport Workers Union organised a truck convoy of over 500 trucks to Canberra on 20 June, scheduled to coincide with the latest Safe Rates Advisory Group meeting - attended by now Prime Minister Julia Gillard and industry stakeholders. The union called on the federal government to urgently implement Safe Rates immediately.

The union said that over 430 people died in 18 months in truck crashes on Australian roads, while deaths in the transport sector make up 25% of all workplace deaths.

TWU NSW state secretary Wayne Forno commented: “We call for change now - for safe rates of pay in road transport to be legislated federally and enforced throughout the supply chain: from the head of the chain of responsibility (eg, large corporate clients) to the end of the supply chain, where multiple levels of contracting out at lowest cost with no safe rate lead to truck drivers who are being pushed to their limits. Safe rates must be legislated urgently, for the sake of the whole community. This will make the roads safer for everybody.”

The Safe Rates Advisory Group discussed the options for a national approach to truck drivers’ pay and conditions to improve their safety, and will release a draft options paper setting out practical options for covering trucking employees and independent contractors in the transport industry, to address the impact of payment rates and safety methods.

The issue of concern is that current pay and conditions methods can result in drivers working excessive hours to meet schedules, overloading their trucks and cutting back on vehicle maintenance. There will be a six-week consultation period after the paper’s release in early July.