Bloodshed on roads can end now: global action week pushes for Safe Rates

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), representing millions of road transport workers worldwide, has launched a Global Safe Rates Action Week, running from August 26 to September 1, 2024. The global campaign underscores the urgent need for fair pay, decent working conditions, and corporate accountability within road transport supply chains.

The action week coincides with the implementation of groundbreaking new Safe Rates legislation in Australia which sets a new global benchmark for fair pay, decent working conditions and corporate accountability within road transport supply chains by establishing an Expert Panel of Australia’s Fair Work Commission to set standards.

Across the globe, ITF-affiliated unions and workers are standing in solidarity, demanding governments follow Australia’s lead by adopting similar measures to protect the rights, livelihoods and safety of commercial vehicle drivers and safeguard the world’s roads for all.

The global action week comes at a time of escalating concern over the dangerous pressures faced by road transport workers, driven by unsustainable competition, ruthless cost-cutting, and corporate greed. 

“The global road transport industry is in crisis,” said ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton.

Drivers are being pushed beyond human limits, forced to risk their own lives and the lives of others as relentless cost-cutting drives them into perilous working conditions. This is a crisis fuelled by corporate greed, and it must be stopped.”

"The ITF’s Global Safe Rates Action Week is a resounding call to end the bloodshed on our roads. Australia's new Safe Rates legislation is proof that this deadly cycle can be broken. It shows that when governments, workers, and industry collaborate, we can create a system where safety and fairness take precedence over profit."

Research conducted by the ITF in five countries lays bare the harsh reality that drivers face. Forced to overload vehicles, speed, and work dangerously long hours without rest, road transport workers are being pushed to the brink as they struggle to make ends meet, highlighting the urgent need for robust standards to prevent accidents and fatalities on our roads.

Throughout the week, ITF-affiliated unions in over 20 countries will mobilise through protests, lobbying efforts and outreach campaigns demanding that governments and employers commit to establishing Safe Rates systems to protect workers and the public alike. Unions will also fiercely oppose attempts by governments or unscrupulous actors, such as those in South Korea, to dismantle Safe Rates protections. Special focus will be given to addressing the demands of women drivers, advocating for equal pay, fair labour standards, and safe workplaces.

As ITF leaders and affiliated union representatives gather in Sydney to celebrate the commencement of Australia’s transport reform, they will issue a global call to action, urging governments around the world to follow Australia’s example and implement similar transformative legislation.

“We demand that governments worldwide take immediate action, using this groundbreaking legislation as a blueprint for a future where lives are valued above profit margins. We also call on companies benefiting from road transport, including platform operators and the multinationals that rely on road transport workers to move their goods, to collaborate public with trade unions in making road transport fair, safe, sustainable, and inclusive,” added Cotton.

The ITF calls on transport workers, unions, and supporters worldwide to stand in solidarity, join the planned actions, and advocate for Safe Rates throughout this week. For more information on how to get involved, please contact us at inlandtransport@itf.org.uk.