Issue No 73 | 13 October 2000 | |
NewsReport Finds Fatigue Fatalities Avoidable
A Parliamentary report into fatigue in the transport industry has revealed up to 30% of road fatalities could be avoided if recommendations including a review of existing agreements in the transport industry and the inclusion of fatigue management as an industrial issue are adopted.
Responding to the report TWU State Secretary Tony Sheldon has called on the Minister for Workplace Relations, Mr Peter Reith to urgently adopt and implement the reports industrial recommendations. "It is clear from Parliament's Managing Fatigue in Transport, Beyond the Midnight Oil report that if we are ever going to be able to reduce the number of people needlessly killed and injured in fatigue related accidents on our roads, then the Federal Government is doing to have to regulate and protect the terms and conditions of employment of drivers in the long distance trucking industry," Mr Sheldon said. "In short, if the Government is serious about saving lives on our roads they should be immediately introducing legislation providing drivers with the right to collective industrial agreements and identifying enforceable minimum freight rates payable to all drivers involved in the industry." TWU evidence to the Parliamentary inquiry made clear that the Government's current industrial regime and repeated refusals to provide drivers with minimum industrial protection is having a direct impact on both the safety of drivers and all other road users. 'Indeed, no one on the reports committee tried to deny that industrial agreements negotiated under Mr Reith's laws that require drivers to increase their average truck speed from 75kph to 90 kph just to maintain their earnings are contrary the safety and welfare of all road users,"says Tony Sheldon. 'In addition to supporting the union's call for legislative protection for drivers, the TWU is also calling on the Government to make all existing industrial agreements, including Australian Workplace Agreements, open to public scrutiny and review by industry and occupational health and safety experts." "Obviously, all existing agreements that are found contrary to the safety of both drivers and all other road users should be immediately declared void," Mr Sheldon said.
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Interview: Righting The Wrongs Improving the lives of Aboriginal people can't be taken out of the context of the economy, welfare and other areas says Bob McMullan, Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Economics: At The Mercy Of Gamblers The plunge of the Australian dollar relative to the greenback has consequences for Aussie workers according to Frank Stillwell. History: Labour History Under Seige Again The Friends of the Noel Butlin Archives Centre have recently been informed of proposed changes to the Noel Butlin Archives Centre (NBAC), changes that will cut staff by more than 50% and leave the Archives mothballed in the tunnel where the repository is situated. Workplace: Fighting The Flexible Firm We are told that hardship and exploitation at work is dying out, and the new economy offers opportunity, freedom and job satisfaction for all. Richard Sennett unveils the true nature of the flexible workplace. Safety: Being bossed around is bad for your health A survey of more than 3,000 Australian workers has revealed that some 54% of workers experience intimidating behaviour in their workplace. In almost 85% of cases it is employers, managers and supervisors who are identified as the culprits. Unions: Discrimination New to the union and the maritime industry and with only a few days casual work to live off, Stephen Rolls courageously spoke up against individual contracts during a job interview with Burnie Port Corp. International: Serbian Workers and Their Unions Fight for Freedom Serbian workers and their unions have been at the forefront of the struggle for democracy in Yugoslavia as they led a general strike in response to attempts by President Slobodan Milosevic to nullify the defeat he faced in the Sept. 24 election. Satire: A few more years of civilised brutality will advantage Aborigines: Ruddock CANBERRA, Tuesday: The Minister for Reconciliation Philip Ruddock has defended his comments to French newspaper Le Monde claiming that Aborigines were disadvantaged because they were late in coming into contact with developed civilisations. Review: Poetry For Workers By Workers Poems about the trials and tribulations of a waitress and what you learn in a chocolate factory are among the gems from the 925 anthology.
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