Labor MP Kelvin Thomson has used his final parliamentary speech for the year to urge the Federal Government to maintain the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT).
Employment Minister Eric Abetz last month announced a review of the RSRT, which has the power to set rates and conditions for truck drivers throughout the supply chain.
The Coalition opposed the creation of the RSRT when in opposition, but Thomson, who holds the Victorian seat of Wills, believes it needs to stay.
“The only protection drivers have is the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, and I call on the Government to maintain the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal,” he says.
“We are seeing an increasing number of deaths as the result of speeding, fatigue and poor maintenance caused by employers setting lunatic deadlines and keeping trucks on the road too long.”
He says road safety is a major issue around Christmas and adds that there will be deaths and injuries from truck crashes this holiday season.
“Drivers have been told that if they do not deliver on time they will lose their jobs. But often delivery times cannot be met without speeding, overloading trucks or staying at the wheel for up to 16 hours at a stretch,” Thomson says.
“Last year there were 47 deaths in truck crashes in my home state of Victoria, many of which were caused by drivers being forced to drive far too fast or too long because of unrealistic delivery deadlines set by their clients.”
The review of the RSRT will examine if the tribunal is an effective means of addressing safety in the trucking industry. It is due to be completed in the first quarter of 2014.