As we draw close to the end of the year, it’s the time people start thinking about the year to come.
But it’s also useful to look at the year that’s been, to pause and look at where we’ve actually got to in the past 12 months. And what a year it has been.
This time last year we’d found out that transport reform laws would be tabled early in 2024. We were gearing up for a final push, making sure politicians heard from the people in this industry and what was at stake.
Federal parliamentarians of all political persuasions heard from people across road transport: drivers who’d been pressured to keep driving so their company could keep a contract; large employers under threat from the gig economy model; gig workers making below minimum wage. It was a powerful example of how the crisis in road transport affects all players.
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In February this year, transport reform laws were finally passed.
We’ve come together like never before to pass laws that will make road transport better in Australia.
What we’ve achieved here is also having ripple effects across the globe.
It was a huge privilege to join with other transport unions in Marrakesh in October for the International Transport Workers’ Federation’s Global Congress. It is not an understatement that the approach we have taken in Australia is now informing how other countries are reforming their own road transport industries.
It’s not just informing other countries – it’s informing other industries.
Take aviation, for example. If you’re an owner-driver or a transport operator you might not think you have much in common with a pushback driver or a cabin cleaner. But the attitudes of companies like Qantas can be found in every industry in every country in the world. It’s those wealthy clients with their profit obsessions that drag industries, including road transport, down. We had a recent success as a union with the Federal Court ordering Qantas to pay compensation to the 1700 workers it illegally sacked – all up it could be over a $100 million bill for the company.
The tide is shifting and the rest of Australia has seen what happens when those wealthy clients relentlessly cut costs – it’s bad for everyone except highly paid executives.
As the cost of living crisis continues, it’s time drivers and operators were paid their fair share. Many large clients recognise this and they’ve joined the push for change. It’s the outliers that will be pulled into line.
Of course, this year we’ve won a powerful tool to make that happen. So here’s a recap on that.
In February, the Federal Parliament passed transport reform laws that will allow us to start reshaping the industry.
It was an absolute privilege to be in Parliament for the moment it happened, beside drivers who’ve been campaigning for 20 years for these laws, and now want to leave this industry in a better place than they found it for the next generation.
In August those laws came into effect, and we got started immediately with first applications to the Fair Work Commission.
The first – to ensure drivers and operators are paid within a maximum of 30 days. For too long, payment times have often dragged on for months, making it even harder to run a business that was on thin margins to begin with.
The second – to put standards in place in food and beverage delivery, where we’re seeing some of the most exploited workers in the country. This will stop the gig economy dragging down the rest of the industry.
The third – to put standards in place in parcel delivery, where work is exploding but companies like Amazon are using models which undercut other decent operators.
We’re starting to see pushback from groups representing wealthy clients like Amazon – but we know that when we are united as an industry these obstacles can well and truly be overcome.
Since we’ve made those applications, the newly-formed Road Transport Advisory group has met to begin convening subcommittees. They’ll explore the applications and how best they should be actioned. Those subcommittees are a crucial part of the laws to ensure the industry gets a say.
Change can’t come quickly enough. This year we’ve seen over 40 truck drivers killed on our roads and close to 200 in total. We’re attacking this from all angles and we’ll need that industry unity as we go. So what happens next?
The applications we’ve made have all been in consultation with the broader industry. Now that process will be even more deeply embedded with sub-committees kicking off. While that’s happening, February will mark another milestone. That’s when automatic protections will apply – protections against unfair contracts and unfair terminations of contracts. For gig workers who can be kicked off an app by an algorithm, that will also apply to unfair deactivations.
We’ll continue working with the rest of the industry, as well, on other applications we can make to address critical needs.
Countless people in road transport – from workers to industry associations to employers to academics – have had a hand in the progress we’ve seen this year. This year was the year we got transport reform laws passed.
As Global Express worker Margaret Harvey told the Prime Minister after Parliament passed the laws – “For years we’ve fought against the race to the bottom”. Next year we’ll start seeing the first changes put in place – and the start of a better road transport industry.
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