Safe Rates Campaign 2024

This year’s International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) Safe Rates Global Action Week takes place Aug. 26 to Sept. 2, 2024, critically coincides with the date a new federal transport reform legislation comes into effect in Australia.

Day of Action rallies are scheduled on Tues., Aug. 27, 2024, at DHL and DHL-owned Loomis locations in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba. Unifor is targeting DHL for shortening the routes of their employees, causing some owner-operator members to lose up to 50% of wages last year. Not providing a “safe rate” could lead to health and safety issues, including driver fatigue.

Join the ITF’s WhatsApp group to stay up-to-date on global Safe Rates initiatives.

Safe Rates Campaign in Canada

Unifor has joined more than 50 trade unions representing road transport drivers around the world calling for “Safe Rates” systems, which will improve workers' rights and make roads safer.

Unifor identifies the current issues that reduce pay and undermine safety:

DHL route shortening for owner-operators significantly reduces their pay.
Unifor’s road transportation members face cost of living/inflation higher than previously negotiated agreements and are likely to seek a cost-of-living adjustment in addition to the wage rates adjustment they need in the face of their own increased costs of ownership of their vehicle.
School Bus sector is facing driver supply shortages.
Cash In Transit companies are reducing workers per vehicle.
Intermodal trucking contracting-out to lower waged companies.
Lack of equitable access to bathroom facilities for drivers and operators.
Increased insurance costs across the industry.
Digital platform companies (or tech companies) misclassifying workers to avoid regulation.

Evidence shows that pay increases as little as 10% can reduce accidents by 30%.

Unifor is fighting these business models in road transport that have become unsustainable and lead to labour abuses.

Unifor with the ITF are fighting for the Canadian road transport industry and federal government to:

Adopt Safe Rates legislation.
Establish a fair price for transport.
Transparency in rate setting and working conditions.
Strong enforcement through collective agreements and regulatory bodies.
Expanded trade union rights for all in transport.
Ratify and implement International Labour Organization guidelines on the promotion of decent work and road safety.

Global Safe Rates Campaign

The campaign, launched by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and its member unions, including Unifor, points to evidence that road transport drivers' working conditions force them into dangerous on-road behaviours.

The ITF is launching a global action week for Safe Rates from Aug. 26 to Sept. 1, 2024. The action week marks a pivotal moment in road transport safety with the introduction of Australia's comprehensive new Safe Rates system. This legislation, supported by the government, workers, and industry stakeholders, sets fair pay and conditions for the entire road transport sector, including the gig economy. It’s a significant step towards making our roads safer and ensuring sustainable working conditions.

The ITF is also focusing on making sure the demands of women road transport workers are visible during the Safe Rates action week and highlighting the invaluable and vital contributions of women truck drivers working in the sector.

In keeping with this call, the federation is calling on unions during the action week to highlight the invaluable contributions of women truck drivers working in the sector, by asking them to send in videos and photos of themselves at work, holding up a message about what Safe Rates mean to them and use the hashtag, #SafeRatesSaveLives.

In New South Wales, Safe Rates have already saved over 205 lives. Similarly, South Korea saw a significant reduction in driver fatigue and accidents with the implementation of these standards.

The ITF's Global Safe Rates Campaign advocates for fair and safe pay standards, transparent contracts, active compliance enforcement, and strong trade union rights.

"The global road transport industry is in crisis. Drivers are being pushed to the brink, forced to endanger their own lives and the lives of others due to relentless cost-cutting and unsafe working conditions,” said ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton.

"The ITF”s global action week for Safe Rates is a clarion call to end the carnage on our roads. For too long, transport workers have been pushed to the brink, forced to compromise safety for survival. Australia's new Safe Rates legislation proves that this deadly cycle can be broken. It proves that governments, workers, and industry can collaborate to create a system where safety and fairness are paramount."

“We demand that governments worldwide, including the Canadian Government, follow suit and use this groundbreaking legislation as a blueprint for a future where lives are valued above profit margins," Cotton added.

"This action week is our moment to unite and demand change. The time for empty promises is over. It's time for Safe Rates."

Read the ITF’s Safe Rates Global Statement of Demands – Participating Unions

Read ITF’s Global Vision for Safe Rates, Safe Roads, and Sustainable Road Transport.