Forcing Union Pay Rates !

The  " Road Safety Renumeration Tribunal " was a body established by the last Federal Labor government at the insistence of the Unions.  It has now delivered a ruling that has incensed the thirty-five thousand Australian owner/drivers and sent the trucking industry into a tail spin !

Traditionally, owning a big trucking rig and being your own boss has been the way many entrepreneurs have chosen to either make their fortune - or go bankrupt.  It is not for the faint hearted !   You need the right contacts to get permanent work and you need a meticulous mind to keep track of the money.  Buying a massive rig runs to hundreds of thousands of dollars and it can be a costly mistake to fall short on regular maintenance.

The way to make money is to have that rig on the move twenty four/seven.   In some cases the swap of drivers to achieve this is a family affair.  The law requires all drivers to keep log books and there are laws to ensure rest stops deliver safety.  It is this owner/driver network that keeps freight prices at reasonable levels as they compete for work with the big multi national trucking fleets.

The Tribunals ruling that came into effect on April 4 required all drivers to be paid at the regulated rate of pay, even if they are family members or a part of a consortium with a financial interest in the business.  This would require a hefty increase in freight rates and the industry is refusing to negotiate - and is withdrawing hires.  A $54,000 fine awaits those owner drivers who fail to pay mandated pay levels.

Basically, this is an attempt to bring a competitive market in freight movement under union control. Freight has a great bearing on the end price of goods in the market place and this network of owner drivers has served to put a lid on what the big trucking fleets can charge.   Each driver negotiates on the basis of what will deliver an acceptable profit.  Often, taking freight to a remote location may involve offering a very cheap back load to make the overall trip financially viable.  That is the essence of running a business free of a rigid pricing structure - which is anathema to union thinking.

The owner/driver industry resents this union intrusion and has called on the government to abolish the tribunal.  That would require a law change, and it seems unlikely that this would pass in the Senate.  Consequently, pressure is mounting to organise a convoy of massive rigs to descend on Canberra to deliver a message that the government may not want to hear with an election in the offing.

The union position is that this impost is needed to ensure that truck maintenance levels improve.  There has been a rash of highway crashes involving big trucks and low rates of pay have forced some owner drivers to skip maintenance - with disastrous results.

Th trucking industry values self regulation. It needs the right business acumen to succeed and those that have it prosper.  The last thing entrepreneurs need is union imposed rules and limitations to stifle ingenuity, nor will such intrusions save those who lack the skill to run a business that relies entirely on their own planning ability.

This could well become a decisive issue in this coming election !