Truckies to win fuel support after ‘historic’ order

Large companies at the top of supply chains have been ordered to have transport contractor pay rates reflect the price of fuel, as the Fair Work Commission has affected its order under recently passed legislation.

On Tuesday (21 April), the Fair Work Commission ordered companies at the top of the supply chain to undertake fortnightly or bi-monthly fuel price reviews and to adjust the pay of transport contractors, such as truck drivers, to recover the increased cost of fuel.

This obligation will apply to businesses such as Coles, Woolworths, the major banks, as well as Uber, Uber Eats and DoorDash, which the commission refused to exclude from the order.

The commission explained that the exclusion of parties in the order would “introduce artificial competitive imbalances into the road transport industry”.

“It is necessary for the sustainability and viability of the road transport industry that effective standards be put in place to ensure that participants with weak bargaining power can achieve recovery of the increased cost of fuel,” the commission’s full bench said in its decision.

“This also has implications for industry safety, since participants who are not recovering their costs may take risks with safety [to] attempt to remain viable.”

After the first month of operation, the order will be subject to review by the commission, then every three months thereafter.

On 2 April, the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) and Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation (ARTIO) made an emergency application to the Fair Work Commission to address the impacts of the rising oil prices on transport workers.

The order was also made against supermarkets, retailers, manufacturers, and transport and logistics companies within the supply chain; the obligations will cease to apply if the Australian Institute of Petroleum’s weekly national terminal gate price for diesel falls below $2 per litre.

For the week ending 19 April, the institute found that average diesel prices for the national and state were 308.9¢.

As the first road transport contractual chain orders (RTCCOs) made by the Fair Work Commission under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024, passed by the federal government in 2024, this legislation allows the commission to make enforceable orders encompassing the entire transport industry.

“This is the first time transport clients have been held to enforceable standards for the transport services they use to cart their goods,” TWU said.

According to Amanda Rishworth, federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, “this order is about fairness. Truck drivers should not be left carrying the cost of global fuel shocks that are completely outside their control.”

“By requiring fuel price changes to be reflected in transport rates, this order helps protect hard-working truckies and small businesses from being pushed to the brink,” she said.

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine (pictured) called this order “historic”.

“Over the last few weeks, drivers and transport businesses have outlined the dire circumstances they are facing with diesel costs, many already having to park up their trucks or rely on personal loans just to keep going,” Kaine said.

ARTIO national secretary Peter Anderson said: “The nation’s road transport supply chains are critical in keeping our economy running.

“This order won’t solve the fuel crisis entirely, but it will mean businesses can continue running with the knowledge that wherever [the] price goes, they’ll be able to recover it.”

National Road Freighters Association national president Glyn Castanelli said: “This order is a huge lifeline to the transport industry, and we will be keeping a watchful eye to ensure clients are keeping to their obligations.”

The full bench stressed in its decision that “if the order is not made, there is a substantial risk that some small fleet operators, owner-drivers and road transport employee-like workers will cease to operate, either temporarily or permanently, with consequent disruption to supply chains”.

This order follows the end of the consultation period for a draft order released by the commission (14 April to 17 April) – the commission made this decision on the day that the previous month’s fuel accounts fell due for transport companies.