Safe payments are more important than the securing the rates themselves, TWU Victorian branch secretary Bill Noonan says
Safe payments—as opposed to safe rates—are more important than the securing the rates themselves, Transport Workers Union Victorian branch secretary Bill Noonan says.
He spoke to ATN about the possibility of a nationally mandated law to secure a minimum rate pay structure and says “a fair bit of work needs to be done” to put it in place.
He agrees Victoria’s Owner Driver and Forestry Contractors Act might work as a framework for a national equivalent “if you are looking for a mediation-style approach”.
“The customers have some responsibility to make sure they pay the operators adequately,” Noonan says.
But he says ensuring drivers are paid in a reasonable time frame is a critical issue.
“The fact that a driver has to wait more than 30 days just isn’t right. I don’t want to hear people say to me that it is common practice,” he says.
“They have no capacity to make any other money. I would hope that is one of the clear issues in this inquiry.”