IT should be good news for truckies in the Griffith area, but Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s recent announcement is simply another twist in an already complicated story.
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The Prime Minister said his government will abolish the tribunal responsible for recent minimum pay rates for owner-operator drivers if re-elected, but Hillston truck driver Jeremy Horne said the tentative decision to remove the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) is too little too late.
“The saga continues, either way it’s just more heartache and turmoil for the people involved,” Mr Horne said
“I’ve got mates who are out of work right now.
“They’ve just spent a stack of taxpayers’ money and achieved nothing, it’s causing outrage.”
The government has taken the side of owner-operator drivers, saying the pay order prices them out of the market and threatens their livelihoods by enforcing higher rates of pay. It has promised to attempt to pass legislation to delay the order until January 1, 2017, when Parliament resumes on April 18.
The move follows a recent decision by the Federal Court to remove a stay on implementing the compulsory pay rates after the National Road Transport Association filed an injunction to stop them.
In the meantime, many drivers are left confused as to what rules apply to them. Removalist Ron Lee welcomed news a re-elected Turnbull government would abolish the RSRT but said action should be taken immediately.
“Honestly I don’t know if it applies to removalists or not, I’m bamboozled,” Mr Lee said. “The government needs to scrap the tribunal immediately, it’s no good leaving truckies in the lurch until January.
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) are supporting the Prime Minister’s announcement saying reports from Price Waterhouse Coopers and Jaguar Consulting make it clear the RSRT is not an effective mechanism for improving industry safety
However, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) have argued the wage-hike is a crucial step in improving the safety of drivers on the road by reducing pressures to drive with no rest to meet deadlines.
“The move will devastate truck drivers in transport sectors around Australia, desperate for the minimum safe rates which will tackle the root causes of the high death toll in truck crashes, bankruptcies and suicides,” the group said in a media release.
Frustrated drivers are holding a convoy to Canberra on Sunday, April 17.
