Government officials have told the TWU they hope to have WA's ownerdrivers laws fully in place by the end of this year. We certainly hope so - they are long overdue.

The laws will include the long-awaited "Guideline Rates" which are based on running a safe and sustainable trucking operation.

A lot of work was put into calculating rates and they had been virtually finalised in March.

The rates were developed by the WA Road Freight Transport Industry Council with TWU involvement.

They are very comprehensive and will make interesting reading once published.

However, there had been a hold up in the re-appointment of the Council and this bogged the whole process down.

Complaints from the TWU to transport minister Simon O'Brien appear to have worked.

The Council is expected to get up and running again with the TWU playing a vital role in its work.

The new regulations will include a Code of Conduct which will lay out the rules for contract negotiations between hirers and owner drivers.

If these regulations are breached, disputes can be taken to the Owner Drivers Tribunal.

The Tribunal is already proving a very important mechanism for sorting out non payment and under payment issues for subbies.

It's been a long and rocky road to get this far and nobody has worked harder than the TWU to get the laws in place.

We hope to report that everything in place by the December edition of The Wheel.

In the meantime

The Transport Forum, with TWU input, has recently completed the annual review of recommended minimum rates for owner drivers.

And the rates have been increased.

In addition to this yearly review of cost movements the rates are also adjusted monthly in line with the rise or fall of fuel costs.

They have been operating quite effectively for the past four or five years but will be phased out once the government rates are introduced.

If you would like a copy of the Forum rates go to our Owner Driver Rates page and download a copy.