Aussie truckers might strike

MELBOURNE, Australia — North Americans and Europeans aren’t the only ones besieged by skyrocketing diesel prices.

Australian drivers are also calling on legislators to do something about fuel costs. In fact, don’t be surprised if you see an Australia-wide driver action, similar to the European strike, soon.

According to sources in Canberra, a bunch of drivers and their union bosses gathered outside Parliament House to lobby for a national system of cost recovery.

"This fuel crisis hitting us right now; it means that thousands of small businesses are at a knife’s edge of collapsing," said Tony Sheldon from the Transport Workers Union (TWU). "It’s critical that government moves forward in making legislation for safe, sustainable rates, allowing our drivers to be able to get cost recovery to make our roads safe."

He also said Australians are poised to go on strike if nothing changes.

Sheldon, the national secretary for the union, said he wants drivers’ rates to reflect the increasing price of diesel. It’s also affecting safety, he added.

"There’s tens of thousands of drivers around the country who do not have cost-recovery models — safe, enforceable rates — which means that they can maintain their vehicles," Sheldon told reporters.
 


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