ITF general secretary Steve Cotton stated: “The RSRT has been one of the bright spots among the otherwise depressing picture of fatigue and danger among Australia’s truckies. Now, unbelievably, the government is considering snuffing out that spark. This isn’t just an attack on the tribunal, it’s an attack on road safety.”
He continued: “To stretch belief even further this decision comes at a time when the Safe Rates model – of safe and fair pay and conditions across the transport supply chain – that was born in Australia is being studied and imitated around the world. This tribunal has a part to play in supporting those aspirations. Undermining it undermines Australian road safety.
“It’s impossible to see this wrongheaded decision as anything less than another assault by the Turnbull government on workers and their unions.”
The Safe Rates model (see http://goo.gl/hhGLYc) was developed by Australia’s Transport Workers’ Union (TWU). The union’s comment on the government’s plans can be seen at http://goo.gl/XZhD3K.
