Aldi truck drivers hold protests across Australia
Hundreds of truck drivers from the Transport Workers Union have protested outside Aldi stores across Australia demanding safer work conditions.
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) website is claiming that Aldi’s truck drivers are “forced to neglect vehicle maintenance, drive longer than recommended hours and skip mandatory meal breaks to make ends meet.”
Friday’s protests were the first since the Federal Court rejected Aldi’s bid for an injunction in August 2017.
The injunction sought to prevent the TWU from publishing inaccurate and misleading information and causing further disruption to operations.
In a media statement published on the 29 August 2017, an Aldi spokesperson affirmed its “commitment to the safety of its employees, contractors and the community.”
To date, Aldi states that it has not received information from the TWU about its allegation, preventing it from investigating and addressing the matter further.
TWU Victoria and Tasmania branch Secretary John Berger said, “Our drivers have had enough and are struggling to cope with the pressures brought on them by Aldi.
“They are worried sick about worsening road safety and they fear that fatalities will occur,” he said.
Aldi strongly denied any suggestion that it places pressure on transport companies or truck drivers to operate unsafely stating, ‘it works with suppliers to set realistic and safe delivery timelines.’
The TWU says it remains committed to lobbying for this issue with Berger saying, “we will continue to protest outside Aldi stores until the company starts taking the safety of its workers and the travelling public seriously.”
