Unfair contracts, truck driver safety, rebuilding Australia’s aviation industry and the upcoming reconciliation referendum are key elements of a busy agenda for this week’s TWU National Council meeting in Sydney
Sydney’s Hyatt Regency Hotel will be awash with transport workers, union leaders and politicians from Tuesday to Friday this week as the state of the transport industry in Australia is put under the spotlight.
The four-day TWU National Council event will be officially opened on May 16 by NSW Premier Chris Minns.
The TWU Council will be focused on developing strategies to convince Federal Parliament to pass reform to set enforceable standards in transport, and on finding ways to support the rebuild required to get aviation back up to safe, quality service standards.
Rebuilding the decimated aviation industry will be a key focus of the council which National Secretary Michael Kaine will address in his keynote speech on Tuesday.
Councillors will also march in a Sydney CBD vigil to remember fallen transport workers killed in horrific truck crashes. Already this year 86 people have been killed in crashes involving trucks, including 25 transport workers.
On Wednesday morning, Cleanaway waste workers and TWU leadership will hold a press conference at 8am outside Sydney Town Hall as part of a sixth 24-hour strike from City of Sydney workers.
A keynote address from NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey will take place on Thursday along with NSW Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis, followed by a press conference on gig worker protections in NSW.
Councillors will also discuss actioning the union’s commitment to support the ‘YES’ campaign for a Voice to Parliament.
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said this year’s TWU National Council comes at a significant time for transport workers who will be taking action to push for improved conditions.
“Thousands of TWU members have committed to rolling actions to hold the likes of Aldi and Amazon to account and urge Federal Parliament to pass lifesaving transport reform,” Kaine says.
“One of many upcoming actions will take place as part of our annual council to remember the heroic transport workers we’ve lost over recent years as the deadly pressures in the industry worsened under the Coalition.
“Since Council last met, we’ve made significant gains in our push to lift standards in transport, including ground-breaking charters with the three largest transport gig economy companies in Australia.
“We have also seen the devastation the Amazon Effect continues to reap on this essential industry, with the collapse of Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics, Rivet Mining Services, MilkRun and around 200 other transport companies.
“Already this year, we’ve lost 86 people in truck crashes including children and infants as young as three months old. We have suffered the heartbreaking loss of 25 transport workers. In their honour, we will not relent until transport reform is established and in full working order to lift transport out of this lethal crisis.”
The TWU is committed to backing workers who lost their jobs at Qantas and is calling for the creation of a Safe and Secure Skies Commission to “establish and secure good quality jobs over executive pay packets”.
“Chaos has ravaged our airports and aviation is on its knees. The TWU’s governing body will put plans in place over the coming week to repair and rebuild the devastated industry,” Kaine says.
Other attendees scheduled to be there this week include Employment Minister Tony Burke,
Tanya Plibersek MP, Assistant Minister for Transport Senator Carol Brown, Senator Tony Sheldon, Senator Glenn Sterle, ACTU secretary Sally McManus, president Michele O’Neil, Assistant Secretary Scott Connolly and Workers’ Capital manager Joseph Mitchell, ARTIO secretary Peter Anderson, ACFS CEO Arthur Tzaneros, NatRoad CEO Warren Clark, NRFA vice president Glynn Castanelli, and representatives from the International Transport Workers Federation and Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union.