Over to you LRTAWA by David Fyfe, President, Livestock and Rural Transport Association of Western Australia (Inc)
COVID-19 has brought some positives
A
s the world grapples with an invisible killer that seems to have originated in the home of one of our key trading partners and we are confronted with frightening statistics on an hourly basis, it’s natural that we look for
Focus
Making the most of the current situation
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t has been heart-warming to see the transport industry finally get the respect and recognition it deserves, but sad that this has happened because of a global pandemic. Countless posts have popped up over Social Media as people begin to realise that the trucks that they moan about, cut off and disrespect on our roads are the
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WATM • May 2020
some positives and to learn some lessons. One of the great positives is that the transport industry has finally received recognition for the vital role it plays keeping the economy ticking over and food on the table. The challenge for us will be
to make sure this acceptance continues, and our ‘essential’ status leads to decision making that recognises the important role we play. Maybe we will then attract new people to the industry because they want to work in a job that is respected and acknowledged for its contribution.
‘sole reason’ they can survive in shutdown/ lockdown situations. One such post that said it so eloquently was… While we are all panicking and running to get the last pack of toilet paper and prepare for many businesses possibly shutting down, please remember to thank the next truck driver you see. If they ‘close’ we will have zero – on the shelves. This group of professionals often go without the respect they richly deserve, it’s a difficult life and particularly hard for their families, and now is a perfect time to remind people of exactly how valuable they are. And to any truck drivers reading this, thank you. So in a time where not only is the transport industry and its supporting suppliers deemed
‘essential’ it also opens up ‘opportunities’ that were otherwise not available. The first I can see is an opportunity to diversify your business and I have a feeling that COVID -19 is going to be the catalyst that changes not only the way we live but the way we conduct business. Out of necessity we are seeing local milk companies return to home delivery, supermarkets restructure themselves and redevelop their home delivery and this trend extends to a large majority of commercial and non-commercial businesses across the board. What this is doing now is increasing truck driving jobs and with so many who have lost their employment it is bringing in more
