Angry truck drivers have held a protest convoy across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Anzac Bridge following snap changes to the Covid-19 restrictions in New South Wales.
Sweeping new lockdown measures, including a halt on construction until July 30, were imposed on Saturday after NSW recorded 111 local cases of coronavirus overnight and one death.
It was later clarified that an exemption would apply for anyone performing essential work for the operation of food retailing, warehousing and distribution, and transportation.
But confused truckies were not satisfied, with about 100 large trucks blocking off the bridges on Saturday afternoon and honking their horns loudly.
TWU NSW and ARTIO NSW jointly wrote to the NSW government calling for clarification that all transport workers were exempt from the restrictions, including aviation workers, bus drivers, waste workers, and taxi and rideshare drivers.
TWU NSW branch secretary Richard Olsen said the state government should follow Victoria’s lead in deeming transport worker groups essential, describing them as “the backbone of Australia” during the pandemic.
“We welcome the exemption which reflects the essential work done by transport workers, but we require urgent clarification that all transport workers — including those providing critical passenger transport, air freight and waste removal services — will not face penalties for going to work,” he said in a statement.
“Without this clarification, we will see waste piling up in our streets, passengers stranded at bus stops and freight left unattended at airports.
“The snap announcement today is further evidence of rushed policy change, which severely overlooked the essential nature of transport.
“This oversight must be rectified by the implementation of a standing exemption to ensure transport workers are automatically protected against future snap rule changes and confusing information.”
ARTIO NSW Secretary Laurie D’Apice said transport operators were “thrown into chaos” when the changes were announced on Saturday morning.
“We’re pleased to see that the NSW government acted quickly to provide an exemption for transport,” he said.
“However, the confusing information will still have an impact on transport operations, as employers and workers scramble to understand which rules now apply.”
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMivwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9uc3ctYWN0L25ld3MvcHJvdGVzdC1jb252b3ktb2YtdHJ1Y2tzLWF0LXN5ZG5leS1oYXJib3VyLWJyaWRnZS1hbmQtYW56YWMtYnJpZGdlLWZvbGxvd2luZy1jaGFuZ2VzLXRvLWNvdmlkMTktcnVsZXMvbmV3cy1zdG9yeS8zYjdmY2YwZmNjZTEyMjJmODJmNWNiZGZiYjBkZjQ2ONIBvwFodHRwczovL2FtcC5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9uc3ctYWN0L25ld3MvcHJvdGVzdC1jb252b3ktb2YtdHJ1Y2tzLWF0LXN5ZG5leS1oYXJib3VyLWJyaWRnZS1hbmQtYW56YWMtYnJpZGdlLWZvbGxvd2luZy1jaGFuZ2VzLXRvLWNvdmlkMTktcnVsZXMvbmV3cy1zdG9yeS8zYjdmY2YwZmNjZTEyMjJmODJmNWNiZGZiYjBkZjQ2OA?oc=5
2021-07-17 08:32:42Z
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