The Road Freight Association (RFA) agrees with, and supports, the implementation plan published today.
The RFA has been part of the Ministerial Task Team since its very inception and its first meeting in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
It has also attended all the later Task Team meetings run by the Department of Transport – with the exception of one in April 2022.
The compliance of employers in the transport sector with all regulatory requirements, is non-negotiable. There are both companies and so-called representative organisations within the road freight sector who refuse to comply with the basic requirements of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) or the Main Agreement within the sector.
The idea that a private institution can create a government agency to “regulate” the freight industry is unacceptable.
The idea to bring back the archaic route and distance “operator licences” that existed before the “deregulation of road freight” in the 1980s, and propose the implementation of a taxi industry style operator licence – shows both a total lack of understanding of how freight and logistics sector operates, as well as a hidden attempt to capture the industry. The various authorities that are responsible for registration and regulation of operators in the sector are mandated and empowered to perform these functions – without the need to further burden the citizenry with another expensive yet ineffective agency.
The RFA supports all efforts to stop the disruption of the logistics chain. The root causes have been identified, and the proposed implementation plan clearly identifies who, what, when and how these causes must be addressed (and resolved).
Again, the RFA calls on the various authorities tasked with registration, confirmation of compliance and the monitoring of adherence to the conditions of employment prescribed for the road freight sector, to apply themselves urgently to their tasks. This will resolve the base causes for the protests by the All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa (ATDF-SA) and the employment of illegal (without work visas) foreigners.
By Gavin Kelly – Chief Executive Officer: The Road Freight Association