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TWU keeps pressure on to get safe rates over the line

Victorian TWU to lobby federal MPs representing Victorian and Tasmanian electorates to back changes to trucking pay methods

January 16, 2012

The Victorian branch of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) will begin lobbying federal MPs representing Victorian and Tasmanian electorates to back changes to pay methods in the trucking industry.

The branch’s secretary, Wayne Mader, says the union will campaign to get the Road Safety Remuneration Bill passed through federal Parliament.

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese late last year proposed establishing a tribunal within Fair Work Australia to rule on pay methods and pay-related conditions to improve safety.

The tribunal will be given the power to hold all parties in the supply chain accountable and to set conditions such as paid waiting times and timeframes for settling accounts.

Mader says operators who are denied a proper return will undercut their competitors and not pay drivers for all work performed. The union says drivers are also prone to speed, take drugs and skimp on maintenance.

“This campaign seeks to make our roads safer for all Australians,” Mader says.

“Drivers who are forced to queue for hours are working unsafe hours. Drivers in our industry don’t want to work under unsafe driving schedules in order to make a living.”

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