Allegations of unsafe practices in the transport industry should be brought to the attention of the relevant government authorities rather than spruiked to the media, says Michael Kilgariff, managing director of the Australian Logistics Council (ALC).
This was in response to claims made by Transport Workers Union (TWU) secretary Tony Sheldon that truck drivers are being set unrealistic deadlines by the major retailers.
“The major retailers, like all other players in the supply chain are liable under Chain of Responsibility (CoR) laws for incidents that may occur in the supply chain where it can be demonstrated that they somehow caused it to happen,” Kilgariff said. If Tony Sheldon and the TWU have any evidence that the law is actually being broken, then they have a legal responsibility under CoR to ensure the authorities are aware of where this is occurring so these matters can be investigated.
“The major retailers are signatories to the Australian Logistics Council’s Retail Logistics Supply Chain Code of Practice which involves all parties in the supply chain, from the supplier and retailer to the carrier and logistics provider,” he added.
“This whole of supply chain approach recognises that all players with a role in the movement of goods around Australia are liable under CoR laws and need to take responsibility for safety. Furthering this cause, from January 1 next year we will have a Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) which will establish a national approach to CoR.
“It is disappointing that the TWU has been more focussed on making claims in the media rather than working with industry on the HVNL which will bring a greater national focus to key safety initiatives such as Chain of Responsibility and fatigue management,” he concluded.