Truck drivers strike for fair pay
Graeme Trask takes home less pay than his fellow truck drivers because he works ‘‘only’’ 10 hours a day.
The 61-year-old has worked for Car Haulaways in Wellington for 33 years, but his pay has barely kept pace with the cost of living.
‘‘I only work nine to 10 hours a day, but 12 hours a day is the norm,’’ he said.
‘‘My pay has gone up over the years but it’s right out of kilter with today’s cost of living.’’
About 50 truck drivers and store workers from The Car Distribution Group went on strike for 24 hours yesterday morning, fighting for pay equity between the company’s subsidiaries Car Haulaways and Auckland Vehicle Deliveries.
The Car Distribution Group stores tens of thousands of cars in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and transports the cars to dealers.
Trask is the workers’ union representative and said vehicle deliveries would be disrupted during the strike.
First Union spokesman Richie Morris said pay disparity between the two firms ranged from $17.50 to $25 an hour but the industry standard was closer to $28 an hour.
‘‘Drivers and store workers at Car Haulaways aren’t only earning less than their colleagues from other companies – they’re earning less than their mates at their sister company, Auckland Vehicle Deliveries, even though they’re delivering the same cars and driving the same trucks out of the same yards,’’ he said.
Morris said the legal driving limit for truck drivers was 70 hours per week, but the long hours on the road put drivers at risk of falling asleep.
Many drivers often drove long hauls, which could take them away from their families for days at a time.
Trask said: ‘‘We can have a driver working alongside another driver who could be on $4 to $5 dollars an hour less.
‘‘The company has decided not to come to the table over the pay parity issue and are quite comfortable leaving it as it is.’’
The Car Distribution Group has been approached for comment.