Strip Blenners of fatigue accreditation: TWU
Union wants Blenners Transport to lose BFM accreditation, as company managers face court today on fatigue-related charges.
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Queensland TWU Secretary Peter Biagini wants Blenners Transport drivers limited to 12-hour workdays.
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The union representing drivers working for Blenners Transport wants authorities to strip the company of its fatigue management accreditation in light of driving-hour breaches.
The demand comes as Blenners Transport managers face a local court today in north Queensland on charges relating to breaching basic fatigue management (BFM) conditions and committing chain of responsibility offences.
Blenners currently holds BFM accreditation, allowing its drivers to work 14-hour days. However, the TWU believes the company should be forced on to the 12-hour standard hours regime.
"Various Blenners directors and managers will today face 742 charges, after 45 of their drivers already pleaded guilty to 148 fatigue-related offences," Queensland TWU Secretary Peter Biagini says.
"Blenners’ Transport should be stripped of their fatigue management accreditation and run on standard driving hours until they can prove they are doing the right thing."
Biagini says he hopes the charges, which the Department of Transport and Main Roads issued following a lengthy investigation, will lead to significant improvements in the running of the Tully-based Blenners.
"We don’t want Blenners Transport to close down. But they need to lift their game and start doing the right thing for the safety of their truckies and the safety of the community," he says.
Blenners Transport has denied breaching its fatigue management obligations.
The company was featured during a recent Four Corners investigation on fatigue and maintenance issues in the trucking industry.
In written responses to the program, Blenners owner Les Blennerhassett denied the company pressured drivers to meet deadlines.
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