Hundreds of tipper drivers are walking off the job in Melbourne this week in a protest for better pay rates.
Organiser Luke McCrone, of Victorian Tippers United, told a big rally of truckies in Epping today that the best way to get the government’s attention was to stop work on the North East Link, the biggest infrastructure project in the state.
“They don’t really give a shit about us, we need to make them give a shit about us,” McCrone told the drivers, who are planning a bigger rally on Tuesday, November 19.
“The way we focus their attention is to go to the biggest job in town and we say if tippers here aren’t doing their job the Big Build agenda and the housing agenda that this government has will not be completed.
“We need to ensure the government fulfills their obligations and sets a minimum standard for us so we can run safe, profitable businesses.”
McCrone said the current state legislation – the Owner Driver and Forestry Contractors Act – can only set recommended rates on state government jobs, but it can enforce minimum conditions on jobs outside the government sector.
“Some of the biggest problems we have are unsuitable conditions; overbooking trucks on jobs, bringing in 20-30 trucks when they only need 10 and you go home and you’ve only made $300-$400 for the day.
“That sort of problem could be addressed if we had the right minimum conditions in place.”
McCrone said one of the first conditions he’d like to see is an eight-hour minimum put in place.
“If you want a $300,000-$400,000 piece of equipment to turn up at your job, it’s not good enough that you’re only given four or five hours to do it.”
McCrone said all contracts should also be 20 per cent higher than an hourly hire rate.
“That’s because you take a risk when you take a contract on. If things go badly, as they often do in this industry, you’re not not going to make hourly hire so there is some risk.”
McCrone also called for an end to putting drivers on hold.
“That’s got to go too. They either cancel us or they pay us. If the job goes on hold we should be paid hourly hire until the job comes off hold.
“But what they want is to have their cake and eat it too.”
The protest action comes after months of wage negotiations with booking agencies have failed to broker new pay rates.