PomsInOz Forum - View Single Post - Truck Drivers

Gollywobbler · 10-05-2008, 10:23 PM

Hi Alan

Thanks very much for your post and for the link contained in it.

I'm not directly involved in the trucking issue in any way, so my information about it is necessarily second-hand, unlike your own.

I'm not disagreeing with you for one moment. I want to run something past you though, if I may?

Earlier this year I was chatting with Sandy Coates of Global TradeDearach in Adelaide, which is a recruitment agency. Sandy is a recruitment specialist and she is married to Richard Coates, a recently qualified Registered Migration Agent.

Sandy mentioned that she has LOADS of vacancies for drivers of all kinds (ie both road vehicles and the big dumper trucks etc that they use in the mines.) I mentioned that there is no shortage of Britons who would gladly fill the vacancies if they could get visas.

Sandy spoke with some of the companies and they were hot to trot, willing to sponsor British drivers etc, so Sandy asked me to ask the British drivers to send her their CVs. Together, she and I decided to consult Richard first, to see how confident he felt about being able to get the visas, and which visas. I mentioned that I had heard that the Unions are allegedly the driving force in slamming the door on visas for foreign drivers.

Richard's view was/is that this is not the case. He said that the Unions are vociferous but that companies who need drivers are not intimidated by the Unions. (Jamie also shares this view to judge from a recent exchange I had with him.) Richard reckoned that the statistics held by the RTAs in Australia show that there are enough licensed drivers in Oz to fill all the vacancies for them annd that therefore - in theory at least - Australia does not have a need to import this particular range of skills..

Richard reckoned that DIAC themselves - not the Unions - are blocking the visas: as is now confirmed on the recent BE thread. Richard's view - adamantly - was that Sandy and I were wasting our time because he would not be able to get visa for the drivers, no matter what they and the companies with the vacancies might want.

This was back in Jan/Feb 2008. I did a bit of digging around in Google Australia at the time and found a PDF file. It was some sort of briefing by one of the Unions, for what seemed to be a forthcoming annual parley between the Unions and DIAC about the topic of visas for HV drivers. As far as I could gather, a series of meetings between DIAC and the Unions - or one of them - was scheduled for about the same time but I have not been able to discover any more about that, or about any outcome.

Much more recently I read that a lady called Barbara Deegan, who I think is something to do with the Department of Industry - is heading some sort of Working Party to investigate road transport in Australia in general. I don't know whether this is the same Working Party that you have mentioned?

I've read loads of arguments put forward by the Unions (via Google Australia.) I haven't ben able to discover anything about what the employers say though. (And not a squeak about what DIAC think or say either.) Jamie tells me that Linday Fox is on record recently as saying that he thinks the roads are inadequate to deal with the increased levels of road transport that are going to be needed d in the foreseeable future. I have not managed to find a single word by Mr Fox on the subject of visas for drivers.

Having read your post, I think that the work which Jamie volunteered to undertake has probably already been done by yourself and the other contributors to the BE trucking forum. Jamie was merely willing to see what else he could discover if anyone wants him to try.

I find the whole thing thoroughly frustrating because I am still not clear about what the sticking points are actually supposed to be in all this. I just get the feeling that we are hearing from the factions - some of it possibly greatly exaggerated - but that we are not hearing anything from the centre, if you see what I mean? If the Unions are the ones blocking the visas, how have they managed to stifle the companies with the need for the drivers? Something about all this does not compute but I can't pinpoint the exact crux of the issue.

It is just plain irritating that we do not seem to be able to clear this jog jam.

Best wishes

Gill

10-05-2008, 10:23 PM	#5 (permalink)
Gollywobbler Moderator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Southampton, UK Posts: 4,411	Hi Alan Thanks very much for your post and for the link contained in it. I'm not directly involved in the trucking issue in any way, so my information about it is necessarily second-hand, unlike your own. I'm not disagreeing with you for one moment. I want to run something past you though, if I may? Earlier this year I was chatting with Sandy Coates of Global TradeDearach in Adelaide, which is a recruitment agency. Sandy is a recruitment specialist and she is married to Richard Coates, a recently qualified Registered Migration Agent. Sandy mentioned that she has LOADS of vacancies for drivers of all kinds (ie both road vehicles and the big dumper trucks etc that they use in the mines.) I mentioned that there is no shortage of Britons who would gladly fill the vacancies if they could get visas. Sandy spoke with some of the companies and they were hot to trot, willing to sponsor British drivers etc, so Sandy asked me to ask the British drivers to send her their CVs. Together, she and I decided to consult Richard first, to see how confident he felt about being able to get the visas, and which visas. I mentioned that I had heard that the Unions are allegedly the driving force in slamming the door on visas for foreign drivers. Richard's view was/is that this is not the case. He said that the Unions are vociferous but that companies who need drivers are not intimidated by the Unions. (Jamie also shares this view to judge from a recent exchange I had with him.) Richard reckoned that the statistics held by the RTAs in Australia show that there are enough licensed drivers in Oz to fill all the vacancies for them annd that therefore - in theory at least - Australia does not have a need to import this particular range of skills.. Richard reckoned that DIAC themselves - not the Unions - are blocking the visas: as is now confirmed on the recent BE thread. Richard's view - adamantly - was that Sandy and I were wasting our time because he would not be able to get visa for the drivers, no matter what they and the companies with the vacancies might want. This was back in Jan/Feb 2008. I did a bit of digging around in Google Australia at the time and found a PDF file. It was some sort of briefing by one of the Unions, for what seemed to be a forthcoming annual parley between the Unions and DIAC about the topic of visas for HV drivers. As far as I could gather, a series of meetings between DIAC and the Unions - or one of them - was scheduled for about the same time but I have not been able to discover any more about that, or about any outcome. Much more recently I read that a lady called Barbara Deegan, who I think is something to do with the Department of Industry - is heading some sort of Working Party to investigate road transport in Australia in general. I don't know whether this is the same Working Party that you have mentioned? I've read loads of arguments put forward by the Unions (via Google Australia.) I haven't ben able to discover anything about what the employers say though. (And not a squeak about what DIAC think or say either.) Jamie tells me that Linday Fox is on record recently as saying that he thinks the roads are inadequate to deal with the increased levels of road transport that are going to be needed d in the foreseeable future. I have not managed to find a single word by Mr Fox on the subject of visas for drivers. Having read your post, I think that the work which Jamie volunteered to undertake has probably already been done by yourself and the other contributors to the BE trucking forum. Jamie was merely willing to see what else he could discover if anyone wants him to try. I find the whole thing thoroughly frustrating because I am still not clear about what the sticking points are actually supposed to be in all this. I just get the feeling that we are hearing from the factions - some of it possibly greatly exaggerated - but that we are not hearing anything from the centre, if you see what I mean? If the Unions are the ones blocking the visas, how have they managed to stifle the companies with the need for the drivers? Something about all this does not compute but I can't pinpoint the exact crux of the issue. It is just plain irritating that we do not seem to be able to clear this jog jam. Best wishes Gill