Registration could help address truck driver abuse

The National Bargaining

Council for the Road Freight

and Logistics Industry

(NBCRFLI) has called for the

registration of all employers

and employees who fall under

its jurisdiction in order to

address the sometimes abusive

working conditions under

which vulnerable truck drivers

often operate.

“Transporters and fleet

owners operate on very low

margins and so, in an effort

to save costs, some employers

don’t register their drivers,”

said Raoul Kissun, senior

associate in the Employment

Law Department of Shepstone

& Wylie Attorneys.

He told FTW that this

created the risk of abuse

relating to issues such as rate

of pay, rest periods, overtime

pay, pension/provident fund

payment, UIF contributions,

excessive overtime and more.

Kissun added that these

conditions could also lead to

an increased risk of drivercaused

accidents.

The news last week that

a truck driver was fighting

back against his company for

unfair dismissal and alleged

assault and other abuses –

such as 12-hour working days

with no time for breaks – has

once again placed the issue

of abusive practices by some

operators under the spotlight.

While FTW learnt from the

NBCRFLI that there were no

actual statistics of these kinds

of challenges, it was apparent,

after several “off the record”

conversations with unions,

truck drivers and transport

companies, that this type of

complaint was not an isolated

incident.

“Ironically, considering

that drivers are left in charge

of vehicles that cost millions

of rands and often transport

very high value goods, I don’t

believe that truck drivers’

rights are respected well

enough in the freight and

transport industry,” the

managing director of a truck

hire company told FTW.

The operations director of a

major cross-border transport

operation pointed out that the

abuses, as highlighted above,

were in fact not as rampant as

“some would have you believe”.

“The industry is largely

regulated and complies with

the Labour Relations Act in

terms of ensuring its drivers

are registered, get enough

rest, have valid drivers’

licences and receive the proper

training. We have too much to

lose if we don’t,” he said.

The challenge, according

to him, is the fact that any

‘Tom, Dick or Harry’ can lease

a truck on a five-year deal

and offer a freight service.

“These fly-by-nighters are the

ones shaping the public’s false

perception of our industry and

are killing off the legitimate

guys with their cowboy

tactics,” he said.

A truck driver who works

for a cross-border operation

based in Durban told FTW

that he wasn’t sure if he was

registered with the NBCRFLI

but said that he had signed a

work contract. He could not

elaborate on what the work

contract entailed but did say

he often drove for more than

12 to 16 hours straight to

make an important delivery

in Zimbabwe. He said he

was “okay” with his working

conditions but did not know

who to complain to if he were

to have a dispute with his

employer. He commented

that there was “a lot of

competition” with foreign

nationals for driver jobs and

that he “could not complain”

because he needed his job.

Kissun said employees

should be made aware of their

rights, noting that transport

owners should encourage

their employees to report any

incidents of abuse by having

open lines of communication.

“They should formulate

grievance policies that allow

their employees to raise

their issues internally and

that sensitise managers and

employees of the parameters

about acceptable conduct,” he

commented.

He pointed out that there

were national

collective

agreements

that

governed the

employment

of drivers

in the road

freight

logistics

industry,

overseen by

the NBCRFLI

. “Furthermore, these

collective agreements are over

and above the rights outlined

in the Labour Relations Act

and any other employment

legislation prescribing

minimum conditions of

employment.”

He said that the

agreements were binding

and enforceable but conceded

that given the limits of the

department of labour and

the NBCRFLI, there was

limited capacity to act as a

watchdog. “They also rely

on complaints being lodged

and unfortunately many

drivers are fearful of losing

their jobs if they do lodge a

grievance,” said Kissun.

Karen Daniels, general

manager of

corporate

services

at the

NBCRFLI,

told FTW

that the

council

was also

accredited

with the

Commission

for

Conciliation, Mediation

and Arbitration (CCMA)

to settle disputes but noted

that issues of assault should

be referred to the South

African Police Service (Saps)

while traffic violations

(such as drivers being forced

to drive non-roadworthy

vehicles) should be

referred to the road traffic

authorities.

INSERT & CAPTION

Employees should be

made aware of their

rights.

– Raoul Kissun