The industry communiqué was reached at a roundtable convened by Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke on Monday that included Uber,DoorDash,Toll,Linfox,Coles,Woolworths and trucking industry bodies.
“This is a powerful blueprint for reform backed by every section of the industry,” said Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine,although it does not include key details such as an explicit mention of pay rates.
“An industry coalition calling in unity for our system to be modernised in line with the reality of today’s transport industry is the strongest endorsement the federal government can receive to act quickly and with the backing of industry to get life-saving reform off the ground.”
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A spokesman for Burke declined to comment on Monday night.
The Gillard government established the original Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal in 2012 to set pay for truckers,many of whom own their trucks and drive as contractors,after a union campaign arguing poor rates were leading to time pressure and deaths. Transport is the country's deadliest industry.
But it was abolished by the Turnbull government in 2016 after two reviews calls for its removal and the then-prime minister argued its pay orders would put solo truckers out of business.