Some prime contractors still haven't got the message that they must pay their owner drivers WITHIN 14 DAYS of being invoiced.

The 14 day limit applies under the Owner-Driver (Contracts & Disputes) Act - unless there is a WRITTEN CONTRACT that has been SIGNED by both parties.

Even when there is a signed contract, the maximum time payments can be withheld is NO LONGER THAN 30 DAYS.

In a recent case involving Mansell Car Carriers the TWU was told that the company had failed to pay owner drivers for up to two months.

Late last year we began getting complaints about the company not paying on time.

In February we went into bat for two subbies, Dave Alexander and Murray Day.

When the men contacted the TWU they were in dire straits. At one point Murray told us he was owed around $35,000. He had no money to buy fuel and was forced to put his home up for sale.

Dave also had his home on the market. He told me Mansell's owed him $21,000.

Armed with these details, I contacted the firm's owner Peter Harvey.

At the outset, Peter told me the nonpayment claims were nonsense. He said everyone was paid up. They weren't and he knew it.

Over the next week or so there were more phone calls and some payments were made into the boys' bank accounts.

Peter had also changed his story about payments being up to date, saying he couldn't pay his subbies until his customers paid him.

At this point I reminded him what the law said about 14 day payments and threatened to take him to the Owner Drivers Tribunal.

Over the next day or two Peter Harvey paid both Murray and Dave the money they were owed.

I can understand Peter's cash-flow dilemma but the law is the law and subbies need a regular cash flow to survive too.

If you are having problems with late payments please contact the TWU. There is a lot we can do for owner-drivers these days.