Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Road Freight Association (RFA) has called for urgent action in the road freight industry following deadly truck accidents in recent weeks.
The organisation has called for non-compliant operators to be removed from the country’s roads and the strict enforcement of traffic regulations by government.
On Friday, 16 September, 19 pupils and two adults died in a horrific truck crash in Pongola in KwaZulu-Natal. Three days later, two people were injured when a fire engulfed their vehicles after an accident on the R34, between Vryheid and Ulundi, also in KwaZulu-Natal.
The RFA said the failure to enforce the National Road Traffic Act was behind “these scenes playing out on a regular basis”.
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RFA CEO Gavin Kelly said in addition, drivers were often paid by load – which violated “very clearly defined conditions of employment”, set out in the Labour Relations Act and agreements of the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry (NBCRFLI).
Kelly said:
The RFA has called for action to be taken against non-compliant operators, saying that the “authorities have not heeded our call”.
“This is what lies at the foundation of most, if not all, of the ills plaguing the industry. Those operators who refuse to register with and abide by the NBCRFLI Main Agreement (negotiated and agreed to by the employers and employees as represented by their duly registered, recognised, and compliant representative organisations) must be held accountable and dealt with,” Kelly said.
The RFA has called for all non-compliant operators to be removed from public roads.
“There is no need for imbizos and other gatherings. There is a need to remove non-compliant operators from the road,” said Kelly.
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