Len's ITF Road Sector speaking notes

Chair introduces the session

  • We will now take Agenda Item 7 on the Safe Rates Campaign in 2 parts
  • During this session before lunch we will hear reports on the ITF Global Campaign Launch held on 22 September in South Korea and the activities that affiliates engaged in globally. In the session after lunch we will discuss the campaign plan going forward.
  • Before we get into the reports we will show a brief video used to outreach for the campaign launch

Animated Safe Rates video will be played (2.5 minutes) Chair presents overview of Safe Rates campaign

Slide 1 and 2 (title pages)

Slide 3

  • Why did we launch a Global Safe Rates Campaign on 22 September? Because affliates asked for it. At the ITF Road Transport Steering Committee that was held in March in Johannasburg a motion put forward my union Unifor and six other affiliates called on the ITF to build on momentum created by previous joint action days, general strike action in South Korea and advances in Canda, Brazil and Australia to take our work on Safe Rates into a new phase. We also agreed at that we would launch the campaign from Seoul in the second half of the year.” And this is what we did.

Slide 4

  • In preparation for the campaign launch, we asked affiliates to sign on to a statement of global demands, signifying their participation in the campaign. Over 60 unions signed on before Sept 22, and more unions continue to sign on afterwards.

Slide 5

  • Unifor was honoured that two representatives of our union participated with 9 other delegates from ITF and unions from Denmark, Belgium, Australia, Kenya, Uganda and Ghana in a delegation to South Korea where they participated in a strategy workshop, press events and a mass rally with over 1000 Korean truck drivers.
  • In addition ITF provided various campaign materials that were used by unions around the world during this time to outreach to workers, industry stakeholders and government. You will hear about many of these activities in a moment.
  • Right not I want to use my union’s activities as an example of how our wins in Canada have supported the Global Safe Rates campaign and how we are in turn using the campaign to support our continued fights for decent pay and safety in Canada.

Slide 6

  • While in Korea, Unifor Western Area Director Gavin McGariggle spoke about we have won and are continuing to strengthen a system of minimum rates for employee and owner drivers in the port of vancouver. This constrasts sharply to the South Korean government’s backtracking from Safe Rates, and helped to support the demands of Korean truck drivers for reintroduction of the system.

Slide 7 Unifor:

  • 20,000 road: including trucking, courier, logisitics, school bus, busing, transit, intermodal truck transport.
  • Unifor held Safe Rates actions across Canada focus on our logistics, trucking, and taxi locals.

Slide 8: Transport Sector In Canada

ITF's Cotton and staff were able to join us in Port Elgin for our national transportation conference this year.

The focus for Unifor was:

  1. Deregulation has meant wild fluctuations in recruitment, hiring, and employment levels.
  2. Fractured market means wage competition driving profits.
  3. A process for setting Safe Rates allows workers' voices to be included in the regulation of the industry.

Slide 9: We are seeking

  1. A merging drivers and owner-operator model
  2. Pushing back against surveillance, electronic monitoring: drivers are not robots.
  3. Reduction of costs for insurance for taxi and operators.
  4. Increased access to bathrooms
  5. A focus on reducing violence
  6. Campaigns on logistics bargaining (DHL)
  7. Intermodal company contracting-out/splintering of employers

Slide 10: Unifor's Safe Rates focus

  • Unifor's part of the Safe Rates campaign is to highlight that wage levels for operators to maintain a equitable standard of pay and access to supports to sustain a quality of life.
  • Safety for our members and the public on our roads is only possible when our members are working under Safe Rates.
  • Safe Rates, Save Lives is not just a slogan, it highlights that the working conditions of operators are the road conditions for the general public.
  • Unifor's The Road is our Workplace, our toilet access campaigns for all road workers, and As Safe as our Cargo campaign for Armored Car workers also highlight that safety of our members is linked directly to the public's safety.

Intervention on Logistics campaing: DHL bargaining and Safe Rates

  • Promotion of owner-operators in DHL to drive-down and download costs on to workers.
  • Owner Operators as "dependent contractors" are not covered by regular employment regulations which affects:

    • Hourly pay
    • source deductoins
    • Pension contributions
    • health, safety, and injury insurance coverage
  • Owner Operators are bear the costs for maintenance and ownership of the trucks.
  • After years of Unifor collective bargaining, increased productivity of operators, and DHL revenue expansion, Owner Operators are finally making livable wages.
  • However, DHL now wants to increase their profit rates at the expense of Owner Operators through transitioning how rates are calculated and paid to these members.