Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal update

Introduction

Further to our prior articles regarding the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal [click here] and [here] to view, the Road Safety Remuneration Act 2012 (Cth) (the RSR Act) and the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (the Tribunal) commenced on 1 July 2012. The following article recaps the main aspects of the RSR Act, the Tribunal and its annual work program.

Objects

The object of the RSR Act is to promote safety and fairness in the road transport industry. The Tribunal's role in this area primarily relates to addressing the relationship between remuneration and safety in the industry by, amongst other things:

• ensuring that road transport drivers do not have remuneration-related incentives to work in an unsafe manner; and
• removing remuneration-related incentives, pressures and practices that contribute to unsafe work practices.

Functions

The functions of the Tribunal include:

• making road safety remuneration orders (RSROs);
• approving road transport collective agreements;
• dealing with disputes between road transport drivers, their employers or hirers, and participants in the supply chain; and
• conducting research into remuneration-related matters that may affect safety in the industry.

The Tribunal is also required to prepare an annual work program identifying matters which it proposes to inquire into during the next year of its operation, with a view to making a RSRO in relation to any or all of those matters.

Annual work program

On 10 December 2012, the Tribunal delivered its first annual work program decision in which it determined that during 2013, it will inquire into the following sectors of the road transport industry:

• retail sector;
• livestock sector;
• bulk grain sector;
• interstate long distance sector; and
• intrastate long distance sector.

How might the work program affect your business?

The annual work program and its outcomes may directly affect your business as an employer, contractor and/or participant in the road transport industry. Any RSROs made will prevail over any less beneficial term in an applicable award, contract determination, agreement or contract.

If you undertake business or are a supply chain, or other participant in any of the above sectors, you may submit a draft order to the Tribunal prior to 4 March 2013, outlining each clause of the order and submissions in relation to each clause that you would seek the Tribunal to make.

The draft orders would then enter into a consultation phase with interested parties making submissions in relation to them. It is anticipated that the Tribunal will consider all submissions which may include conducting conferences and hearings before making an RSRO in the sectors highlighted above.

A full timetable of the annual work program for 2013 is yet to be published.

In our view the Tribunal will focus on making RSROs in its annual work program with a view to removing piece rates, box rates and incentive models that encourage efficiency with risk to safety. This will affect contracts and agreements in place that provide for those remuneration models.

Conclusion

RSRO's made by the Tribunal in the coming year in the areas outlined above will provide rules regarding how employers and other participants in the road transport industry may remunerate employees and conduct commercial and practical aspects of their operations. Persons impacted should consider making submissions to assist in protecting their interests and ensuring that workable RSROs are implemented.

Should you wish to discuss any aspect of this update or would like more information or assistance with making submissions, please contact National Workplace Lawyers on +61 2 9233 3989. 

National Workplace Lawyers

Note — this is for information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to render legal advice.