Over to you A FAIR GO FOR OWNER DRIVERS by Ray Pratt
OWNER DRIVERS BATTLE TO STAY IN BUSINESS
O
wner Drivers like most small businesses really battle to stay in business. It is a mammoth task for an Owner Driver to purchase a truck, obtain good work and then get paid for doing that work. Buying the truck isn’t too difficult as there are plenty of avenues to go down to get financial help to get started. Finding work isn’t too hard at the moment as the country is experiencing a huge shortage of drivers. Getting a job that pays well is difficult but getting paid in an acceptable time frame is what brings a lot of Owner Drivers undone. Too many Owner Drivers have to wait in excess of thirty days for payment. The law in Western Australia states that Owner Drivers must be paid in fourteen days after receiving a claim for payment. If you have an agreement with the company you work for then payment may be made in thirty days after receiving a claim. The law does not get any clearer than that. Many will say that they have never heard of such a law. This law was put in place over ten years ago after a lot of work by the then minister of transport Alannah Mac Tiernan, concerned Owner Drivers and the Transport Workers Union. The idea was to ensure that truck drivers are paid a safe and sustainable rate and they are paid within a
8
WATM • December 2020
reasonable time frame. The sad outcome is a lot of transport companies think they are above the law and choose to ignore this. Some of this problem is the fault of Owner Drivers for not standing up for their rights and demanding better working conditions. I have been made aware of cases where Owner Drivers have tried to educate their transport companies about this Act and they have been shown the door and told never come back. This merry go round of hard work and
Every month, fuel companies, insurance companies and a myriad of other companies expect their accounts to be paid on time irrespective of whether you are getting paid regularly
then waiting for payment presents the biggest obstacle in Owner Drivers staying in business. The big companies that dictate what and when you get paid need to be held accountable as drivers struggle to stay afloat. Every month, fuel companies, insurance companies and a myriad of other companies expect their accounts to be paid on time irrespective of whether you are getting paid regularly. This action by big business screwing small businesses is not new and does not just apply to the transport industry. For too long now, big business uses this late payment issue as a cheap means of funding their big empires and they care little about what it does to the economy and to how they ruin the lives of individuals. All that seems to matter to them is their bottom line and taking home huge bonuses at the end of the year. So what is the answer? I would love to name and shame these greedy companies and expose them and their dishonesty. They all do a terrific job getting on the media saying what good corporate citizens they are but as far as I’m concerned they are nothing short of greedy thieves that are prospering at the expense of the real workers of this country. ~ Keep it Safe, Ray Pratt.
