The tip-truck driver protest clogged the West Gate Bridge during peak hour yesterday morning
A tip-truck protest in Melbourne yesterday brought the city’s traffic to a standstill as more than 70 trucks clogged the West Gate Bridge during peak hour.
Many tip-truck drivers reduced their speed to around 35 kilometres per hour while travelling on the four city-bound lanes of the bridge at around 8.30AM before slowly moving to Victoria’s Parliament House.
The protest was led by Victorian Tippers United (VTU) and comes due to the state government’s lack of action on diesel prices and fuel levies.
Victorian department spokespeople quickly warned drivers to avoid using the West Gate Bridge to get into the city, with queues pushing back onto the M80 Ring Road and the Princes Freeway back to Laverton.
The convoy of tip-truck drivers caused traffic to stretch for around 10 kilometres behind the protest before the protest carried into the CBD.
VTU treasurer Ricky Woolcock was one of the lead drivers in the convoy and says drivers headed to Parliament House in a plea to receive some financial help amidst rising operating costs.
Woolcock told 3AW that truck owners were spending more than $2000 on fuel per week, meaning some drivers were making as little as $60 per day.
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“We want everybody to be making a profit and having safe trucks,” Woolcock says.
“We don’t need the extra stress. At the moment, they’ve fixed our rates so we can’t gain any extra money back for extra expenses.
“We’re not asking for a pay rise; we’re just asking for the extra expenses to be covered at this point in time.”
The Transport Industry Council is currently reviewing the issue, while a Victorian government spokesperson says rates for tip-truck drivers were increased in April.