Payment terms and safety measures in spotlight
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) General Council has unanimously agreed on the industry’s approach to the possible re-establishment of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT), it says.
While the meeting outcome reaffirmed the council’s opposition to government-imposed price fixing, with concerns raised about Labor’s new national policy of enforcing fixed prices on all parties in the supply chain, it supports measures to assist owner-drivers and small fleet operators such as mandatory 30-day payment terms.
The ATA General Council also unanimously agreed on the need for practical safety measures including:
- Mandating Autonomous Emergency Braking for all new trucks
- Increasing the quality and quantity of driver rest areas, with more support for Rod Hannifey’s pioneering work on marking informal rest areas
- Enabling the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to provide independent, no-blame safety investigations for road crashes involving heavy vehicles, and
- Reviewing the prescriptive work and rest hours, including work and rest hour tolerances for electronic work diaries.
“This unified decision highlights the power of our council,” ATA CEO Ben Maguire says.
“Through robust and respectful discussion, we reached a unanimous agreement on the ATA’s position and role on this important issue.
“Our council agrees that everyone in the industry should be paid sustainably and promptly. We particularly support practical measures that would assist owner-drivers and small fleet operators, including mandatory 30-day payment terms.
“The ATA is keen to work with the Labor Party to make sure its policy approach would improve safety and working conditions for everyone, without creating a fixed pricing regime based on spreadsheets in a Fair Work Commission office rather than real world costs and practices.
Read more on the ATA’s priorities for 2019, here
“The industry’s safety record is continuing to improve, including since the abolition of the RSRT, although we recognise that we still have much to do.
“The most recent data from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) shows fatal crashes involving articulated trucks decreased 16 per cent in the 12 months ended September 2018 compared to the year ended September 2017.
“In NSW alone, we have seen a 28 per cent decrease of heavy vehicle fatal crashes in the 12 months to February 2019.”