Cape Town – The National Truck Drivers Foundation says drivers are harshly treated and suffer at the hands of truck owners.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, the foundation's Siphesihle Muthwa said drivers were suffering severely at the hands of the owners, and that they were often the reason behind driver behaviour.
"The situation right now is not like before when foreign drivers were driving here. Our employers knew that those foreign drivers used to travel in pairs, or more, to help with driver fatigue and would pay for one driver for those adjustments.
"Now, as a local driver I am expected to drive for more than 15 hours per day alone and it is that causes accidents," Muthwa said.
Responding to the accusation that truck owners were essentially trying to prove that South African drivers were less competent than their foreign counterparts and labelled as lazy or poorly trained, Freight Association CEO, Gavin Kelly, said if the transport company didn’t run their company in a compliant manner, lots of shenanigans would pop up.
“When you employ someone in the freight industry, there are very clear guidelines and rules as to how that person will perform or function for you.
"These are set by the Labour Relations Act in general terms of the employees and most specifically by the National Bargaining Council for the Road and Trade logistics, through the negotiations and discussions between the employer or the employee. (These are) registered truck companies and the unions representing the employees," he said.
Kelly said in the negotiation process between the involved parties, another minimum requirement was that drivers should rest during those maximum driving hours.
He highlighted that non-compliant transporters that didn’t abide by labour relations or the representative had to be removed from the sector so that these sort of accidents don't happen.
"Drivers must remember that there are avenues through which they can voice their grievances,“ he said.
Commenting on driver fatigue, Kelly said driving in pairs wasn’t a general practice or prescribed in any way. He added that it was something an employer could decide on their own.
"There are certain other technologies to test whether the driver is showing fatigue. Those devices monitor the eyes of the driver and send a warning both to the drivers, or those managing them, so that they can instruct them to pull over in order to avoid accidents," he said.
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