TRUCK DRIVER DRUGS, SPEED CLAIMS DENIED

Employer Defends Industry

Claims New Zealand truck drivers were using drugs to meet deadlines were
"absolute garbage," according to the manager of a Dunedin transport firm.

Transport Workers Union of Australia federal secretary John Allan last week
said New Zealand truck drivers were forced to speed and encouraged to take
drugs to stay awake, meet their deadlines and make a living.

The practices were part of generally poor health and safety standards in
the trucking industry, causing a serious shortage of truck drivers on both
sides of the Tasman, he believed.

"The threat is the same in Australia and New Zealand. Many drivers work
long hours for low wages, and there is scant regard for health and safety,"
he said.

Mr Allan, who is in New Zealand to work with New Zealand's Council of Trade
Unions on joint safety and pay initiatives, said poor health and safety
standards contributed to New Zealand's shortage of 1250 truck drivers.

"If you improve safety issues, you make the industry more attractive to
work in," he said.

Tulloch Transport general manager Nevill Henderson, while agreeing there
was a shortage of drivers, rejected suggestions some drivers were on drugs
to meet deadlines and said safety standards were not being compromised.

"I would absolutely, totally disagree with that. Any of our staff that
either overload a vehicle, deliberately cheat on the log book, or speed,
would face disciplinary action.

"I cannot give one example in this industry in 11 years of a guy telling me
that he has been encouraged to take drugs," he said.

Tulloch Transport operates 40 trucks out of Dunedin, staffed by 35-40
drivers, and has a total fleet of 170 trucks with drivers covering all
areas south of Christchurch. While it was increasingly difficult to find
drivers, health and safety standards were not to blame for the shortage, Mr
Henderson believed.

He cited declining rural population, and greater demand for 24-hour
transport services as reasons for driver shortages.

"It's just more and more difficult to get people to be truck drivers in
exactly the same way as all vocational trades are short," he said.

Recent legislative changes had put the onus on the industry to provide
safety equipment such as high-visibility jackets, hard hats, boots and
breathing apparatus where appropriate to meet the needs of drivers, Mr
Henderson said.