The decision of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal to prioritise the retail sector in its first annual work programme is a victory for truckies, small business and the travelling public, said national secretary of the Transport Workers' Union (TWU), Tony Sheldon.
"Truck drivers and operators are price takers not price-makers. With one in three trucks across the country doing work for big retailers like Coles, major retailers have unprecedented economic power over the industry. They use this power to dictate prices, standards and conditions that see many truck drivers and operators bear costs that ordinarily would be borne by the retailers. This means truckies and small trucking businesses are forced to the limits just to break even – a fact proven in the results of the Safe Rates Survey 2012, which show that 73% of surveyed drivers in the Coles Supply chain agree that pressure from major clients, like Coles, is the major cause of unsafe practices in the industry such as speeding, carrying overweight loads and breaking safe driving hours."
The Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal was set up earlier this year after the Australian Government passed into law Safe Rates Legislation, acknowledging over 20 years of evidence from cross party parliamentary enquiries, coronial and academic reports and testimony from truckies throughout the country, demonstrating the safety crisis on our roads.
Frank Black, TWU member and Australian Trucking Association (ATA) owner-driver representative also welcomed today's decision. "After decades of truckies trying to stand up against the unfair and unreasonable demands of major clients like Coles and others, we are finally going to see them held to account for all the pressure they put on the drivers out on the roads each and every day who are just trying to make a decent living and provide for their families. Truckies across Australia will benefit from this decision, in particular the opportunity it provides to make their driving conditions much safer."
Tony Sheldon said huge numbers of small businesses stand to benefit from today's announcement. "Apart from our own members, the tribunal's decision is also welcome news for all small businesses; from owners of corner shops to farmers and other producers. Shop owners and producers from Sydney to Perth and Adelaide to Darwin are continually squeezed by the major retailers, driving down their margins, and forcing them to take on the burden of these costs.
"Today's announcement reaffirms what TWU members have been saying for over 20 years, that without addressing the root cause of the safety crisis – the overwhelming control of transport drivers and operators by major clients like Coles – tools such as fatigue management and black boxes cannot be effective. We look forward to working with the Tribunal over the coming year to make our roads safer for all Australians and to hold major retailers to account for the safety of every truck driver within their supply chain.
"As we move into the Christmas period, this is most importantly good news for the travelling public. Every year up to 330 deaths on our roads are a result of the pressure on truck drivers from the major retailers, and often it is a member of the public driving to or from work who pays with their life. Today's announcement is another step in the right direction, and we will continue to work with the tribunal to significantly reduce the annual death toll."