POPULAR WORDS

September 8, 2010

Customers should put in place contingency plans to give truck drivers flexibility on deadlines due to flooding in Victoria, the Transport Workers Union says.

With floods causing road closures and traffic delays, the TWU has called for “tolerance” from customers.

Flooding has forced people to evacuate their homes in the northern part of Victoria and towns are still on alert as the state prepares for water levels to keep rising.

“Far too often drivers face the same schedule regardless of road conditions, with the threat of client-enforced penalties or long periods of waiting time if they miss slots,” TWU National Secretary Tony Sheldon says.

“When you are leaving Sydney or Brisbane or Adelaide this morning, you don’t know how long it will take to get through to major centres in regional Victoria. Drivers and transport companies will be under time pressures, due to road closures and delays, and that needs to be assessed.”

Sheldon says the TWU will monitor the situation in Victoria and will call for a meeting of all major transport companies and customers if flooding threatens main supply routes.