Transport workers are looking for leverage over the supply chain because we need to stop the relentless pressure from clients who want to degrade our industry standards.
The work that transport workers do every day is undercut by the pressure from clients to reduce invoices, the daily expenses of running a vehicle, the fuel costs that don’t go down, permits, licences, rego, fees, road tolls and more.
The NorthConnex Tunnel in the north of Sydney will open soon adding to the hit on the wallet that is already empty due to the abundance of toll roads and their high usage fees.
Heavy vehicles MUST use NorthConnex or face a $194 fine and you will be paying over $23 every trip. It will affect what you earn every week.
Again, I remind you of the cosy deal that Transurban has made with the governments in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Transurban is a company that is unfairly growing it’s profits off the back of your hard work.
In NSW we are fighting back, we are talking to Government, asking them to make toll roads fairer for heavy vehicle users and the industry stands with us. Together we took it to the streets in a protest rally in September.
NSW Opposition MPs Jody McKay and John Graham have called for legislation to be made into law on toll free periods. The Opposition Leader and Shadow Roads Minister are talking with the TWU. They understand the issues that heavy vehicle operators face.
NSW Transport Minister, Andrew Constance is not talking to the industry, he appears to not want to understand your needs. He is only talking about the safety of sending trucks underground and he has not replied back to a letter sent to him by the TWU.
Transport workers are tired of propping up private companies like Transurban, as one of the costs of doing business.
The TWU are in court on your behalf, looking to secure industry agreements that will include clauses for compensation paid by the clients and companies to drivers for the costs of using toll roads. We are also asking Government to make cost recovery easier by locking fair payment times into legislation. Transport industry businesses and owner-drivers should be paid within 30 days not 90 or 120.
Our fight for the industry extends further, currently for transport workers in the supply chain we are seeking to use leverage to ensure that standards that currently exist for pay and conditions do not go backwards.
We have a plan for 2021, it is about the transport industry and how we lift rates and conditions to a standard that respects the critical nature of the work transport workers completed during this pandemic.
Our plan is about protecting jobs, defending industry rates and conditions, bringing up the rates and conditions of competitors in the sector that can afford it right now.
Most importantly the TWU wants to ensure those clients still making profits are brought to the table to bargain with transport workers directly who are doing the job.
Want to be a part of that plan? Call the TWU and join the fight on 1800 729 909 or visit our website.