Manager of ATA NSW, Jodie Broadbent, has said the first remuneration order by the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal puts excessive requirements on trucking operators. The tribunal released its order , to take effect on 1 May 2014, this week. Broadbent said the order would not save a single life on Australia’s roads.
“The order will not save lives, because its safety requirements are already covered by other laws,” said Broadbent. “The order will not even achieve the tribunal’s stated objective, which is to improve the income of truck drivers. Instead, it will strangle the trucking industry in red tape. The order will require employers and hirers to prepare written contracts for all their dealings with drivers, even though many jobs in our industry are done on the basis of a phone call or handshake.
“In an extension of a NSW requirement, it will force employers and hirers to prepare a safe driving plan in consultation with the driver for every long distance trip involving a heavy truck. Each plan will have to cover twelve points in detail. Fortunately, ATA NSW and other organisations were able to convince the tribunal to drop its proposal that consignors and consignees would have to witness drivers’ odometer readings. This would have been a work health and safety risk.
“Trucking operators already have to meet rigorous safety requirements under the work health and safety law and the chain of responsibility provisions of the road transport law. Instead of increasing safety, the order will increase the compliance burden on the trucking industry and reduce our productivity, at a time when business productivity needs to go up.”
The Australian Government’s review of the tribunal will not prevent this order from going ahead on its scheduled start date, 1 May 2014. ATA NSW, will be work with its members to help them comply with the order at the lowest cost.