The Transport Workers Union (TWU) will seek solutions from the Fair Work Commission’s new road transport division to address issues faced by transport and gig workers.
Truck drivers, food delivery riders and parcel couriers will make submissions under the new Closing the Loopholes Bill, which gives the FWC powers to adjudicate on unfair termination and unfair contract terms.
The TWU says it is focusing on three key industry areas in its submissions:
- Food and beverage deliveries to people’s homes performed by gig workers
- Fairer payments terms in transport supply chains, from major clients all the way through to smaller operators
- ‘Last mile’ parcel deliveries performed by drivers using their own vehicles
“This is the start of the biggest shake up of the transport industry in living memory, and not a day too soon. This is an industry that has claimed the lives of almost 500 workers and more than 3,500 businesses over the last decade alone,” says TWU national secretary Michael Kaine.
“Workers, employers, gig companies and even clients like Coles and Woolworths united for industry reform, achieving legislation that the TWU intends to use to its fullest potential, starting right now.
“Making these applications during the first week of this ground-breaking legislation is a water-shed moment for Australia’s 500,000+ transport workers, their families and the entire community.
“No household is untouched by the efforts of transport workers. We share the roads with trucks, courier vans and food delivery bikes every day.
“With the boom of online retail and food delivery, consumers have come to expect rapid deliveries to our doors, but also expect that drivers are paid properly and work under safe conditions. Until now, that has not been the case.
“Over time, these standards can be built up and expanded out until we have eradicated the Amazon Effect that has brought deadly exploitation and unsustainable competition to the transport industry.”
Under the new legislation, the applications will be referred to a Road Transport Advisory Group (RTAG) of registered organisations which will coordinate subcommittee consultation with relevant parties in order to inform the Expert Panel on standards.
This week, a delegation of international transport unions coordinated by the International Transport Workers Federation are in Sydney to commemorate the launch of these new laws and its first applications. Last year, 67 transport unions around the world signed up to a global campaign to secure similar ‘Safe Rates’ legislative systems.
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