Abolishing RSRT good for small businesses

Small trucking firms and owner-drivers celebrated a victory last month when the Federal Parliament voted to abolish the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal.

The RSRT implemented a payment order which forced owner-drivers to charge a mandatory minimum rate.

Katanning-based owner-driver Glenn Kendall said the pay rates mandated by the RSRT would have put independent contractors out of business.

“We’ll literally be uncompetitive — we can’t sustain the required base rate when a bigger trucking company can quote whatever rate they want,” he said.

Australian Trucking Association chief executive Christopher Melham said the decision to abolish the RSRT would save thousands of small businesses.

“Owner-drivers were losing their livelihoods and family businesses were folding under the pressure of this unfair, two-tier payment system,” he said.

“Owner-operators across Australia stood up and said that this wasn’t right.

“I’d like to thank the Government and all those independent senators who stood with owner-drivers during this dark time. Thanks to their efforts, the RSRT is now a thing of the past, and its funding will be reassigned to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.”

Supporters of the RSRT, the Transport Workers Union argued there was strong evidence linking rates of pay to driver safety and the abolition of the tribunal would put drivers at further risk.

TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon said the focus of the ATA was simply money.

“They oppose addressing the problems transport operators and drivers face every day,” he said.

“Their mates in big business and Government are backing them on this and playing politics with people’s lives.”