Two weeks ago we discussed the possible fall out from the proposed Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) order which implements a minimum rate for contractor drivers through the Contractor Driver Minimum Payments Road Safety Remuneration Order.
Now it appears the PM is acting, in response to owner drivers, some of whom appeared with him at press conferences to say they will be put out of business if they need to pay these minimum hourly rates. The Government is arguing there is no link between pay rates and safely outcomes. Others suggest that the real agenda is that big business has woken up to the potential higher costs of transport which will impact their businesses, so they are wanting to resist the changes, which by the way are not relevant to large transport operators.
So what is the evidence?
The Government’s own reports show the transport industry is the most unsafe industry in Australia, with higher fatalities than any other − 12 times the average rate of all industries – and that RSRT orders will reduce crashes by 28 per cent.
The Review of the Road Safety Remuneration System Final Report from January 2016 was prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in their capacity as advisors to the Commonwealth Department of Employment. They concluded:
“the focus of the System should be on the link between remuneration and road safety and only once the link has been appropriately established should those issues be targeted proportionately and directly”.
“our analysis of the costs and benefits of the System suggest that there will be a significant cost to the economy when both Road Safety Remuneration Orders are in effect, with any potential safety benefits significantly outweighed by the associated costs”.
“consistent with the direction set out in the Government’s Guide to Regulation it is hard to see how any system that results in a net cost to the economy could be aligned with government priorities and policies”.
Yet they cite data showing that since heavy vehicle national laws were adopted in 2014, accidents have reduced.
They say “on balance, there is not enough evidence to conclusively prove that the Road Transport Order has had an impact on safety outcomes given the multiple causal factors affecting road safety. In addition to perspectives that the System has had no impact on safety outcomes, stakeholders conveyed to PwC that there is widespread non-compliance with the Road Transport Order within the industry due to its ‘unworkability’. If that is the case, it would be difficult to conclude that the introduction of the Order, which requires changed practice within supply chains is having any effect if it has indeed, not changed those practices”.
The key question is, to what extent do pay rates have a direct impact on safely? This must be answered before decisions are taken.