Rob's money was held up after North West roll-over

• Owner Drivers
• 10th October 2012

The TWU went into bat for the owner-driver who was owed almost $79,000

Robbie Brown has been in the transport game for more than 35 years and he is widely regarded as one of the better operators in the industry.

There’s no bullshit about Brownie and he calls a spade a shovel because that’s what we call them in Australia.

He’s also a TWU member and when he ran into trouble getting paid for work he had completed, he gave us a call.

“I’d been employed by Logiwest who were subbying for one of the major transport companies.

“Everything was going just fine until one of my drivers rolled one of my doubles on the North West Coast Highway earlier this year.

“It was on the dangerous narrow stretch just South of the Burkett Road turn-off and there were cows on the road. They are a big problem up that way.

“The rig had to move slightly off the road and the driver had it just about in control again when it hit a culvert. Nothing but bad luck really and virtually impossible to avoid!

“All my trucks are on GPS and the computer shows that the truck never went over 90ks for the entire trip. That’s the way I like to run and I abide by all fatigue regulations.

“After the incident I was stood down by Logiwest because their prime contractor wanted to do a three-month investigation.

“I’d already been working with Logiwest for three or four months and they owed me close to $79,000 prior to the incident.

“They wanted me to use my ‘Marine Transit Insurance” to cover the prime contractors load.

“I wasn’t too happy about that proposition because it is not my legal obligation to invoke my policy. And they wouldn’t allow us to see the freight or get it assessed.

“So we ended up in a Mexican stand-off situation with the prime contractor refusing to pay Logiwest and Logiwest refusing to pay me.

Of course the old, ‘I’ll pay you when I get paid’ is now illegal in WA.

Three months after the roll-over I was still trying to get my money and that’s when I called the TWU.

“Mick Connolly took up the case for me and after threatening to take Logiwest to the Owner Drivers Tribunal the outstanding money was paid in full.

“The old saying, “You never know when you might need the TWU” is true and owner drivers should always be members. In the long run it pays, said a grateful Rob Brown.