Transport workers, union leaders, politicians and industry players will gather in Hobart this week amid a push for regulated standards, fairness and safety across the road and aviation sectors.
The Transport Workers' Union national council kicks off on Tuesday and will make key decisions about rebuilding the aviation industry and reforms to tackle deadly conditions in road transport, particularly among contractors or so-called gig workers.
"Over the last 12 months, the Australian community has suffered the consequences of government inaction on transport supply chains and a national plan for aviation," TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said.
"We've had empty shelves in our supermarkets, major COVID outbreaks in essential transport workplaces, mass truck strikes as workers fought off attacks to their job security, and an Easter break ruined by extreme airport delays and lost luggage.
"Every year, the Australian public suffers the loss of hundreds of mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends and other relatives in preventable truck crashes."
Mr Kaine said Australia was also in the depths of a cost-of-living crisis in transport with key players engaged in a race to the bottom at the expense of safety and service.
"We lose businesses that can't compete with a workforce ripped off by minimum wages and conditions," he said.
"We lose houses and we lose lives. We lose the security of essential goods reaching supermarkets and hospitals."
As part of the council meeting, TWU members, delegates and elected officials will protest at Hobart's Parliament House on Thursday over government inaction on the Senate recommendations tabled nine months ago, calling for regulation to make trucking safer, fairer and more sustainable.
Australian Associated Press
