Unions across the world are coming together in an effort to consolidate transport reform for drivers
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) is uniting with more than 50 trade unions in a joint effort to push for transport reform.
The union effort is calling for governments across the world to implement Safe Rates systems to ensure that drivers and other transport workers are guaranteed minimum rates.
Safe Rates payment models enforce legal obligations across companies in the road transport supply chain, ensuring contracts are fair for workers.
The TWU is currently pushing the government to act upon legislation tabled by workplace relations minister Tony Burke to enforce minimum rates.
TWU national secretary Michael Kaine says the unity of the unions will make their calls for change stronger.
“In Australia and around the world there is an urgent need for transport reform that can make our roads safer, not just for workers but for all road-users,” he says.
“The fight for Safe Rates globally is gaining pace, with over 50 unions joining with one call for systems that can address razor-thin margins, commercial pressure from the top of the supply chain and unfair competition from the gig economy.
“We’re calling not just on the Australian parliament but governments around the world to urgently back enforceable minimum standards that would ease the deadly pressures on drivers and operators.”
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The campaign is being supported by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), a global union that represent more than 18 million workers in 154 countries.
It is a record coming together of unions across the world, with the participating unions representing more than a million transport workers.
The aim of the campaign, ITF general secretary Stephen Cotton says, is to get government to adopt Safe Rates systems that have already been employed in South Korea, Brazil and Canada.
“In countries all around the world, the multinationals that depend on road transport workers are cutting corners and driving down wages in the pursuit of ever-higher profits,” Cotton says.
“But these reckless and greedy practices aren’t just making life a misery for road transport drivers, they are causing carnage and death on our roads.
“The Safe Rates campaign says that enough is enough: We know that when drivers are paid properly and have decent conditions, they are able to work without being forced to risk their own lives and the lives of everyone on the roads.
“Responsible employers know that fair and safe standards in road transport are not only good for workers, they make our whole industry safer and more sustainable.
“We stand ready to work with governments, road transport employers and client companies to define these standards and ensure that they are upheld throughout supply chains and across the road transport industry.”
Some key figures from a 2021 survey of Australian truck drivers have informed the TWU’s campaign, including:
- 75 per cent of owner drivers have done a run that made no profit
- 42 per cent of owner drivers didn’t raise safety concerns for fear of losing a contract
- 55 per cent of owner drivers had delayed maintenance they couldn’t afford
- 1 in 4 employee drivers had been pressured to drive past legal hours and skip rest breaks
- 1 in 5 employee drivers had been pressured to speed to meet deadlines
- 1 in 5 employee drivers had been pressured to falsify logbooks – a means of tracking fatigue that is required by Heavy Vehicle National Law