STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Ms JORDAN-BAIRD (Gorton) (13:31): Today, across the country, thousands of transport workers, together with the Transport Workers' Union, are taking 24 hours of strike action in the biggest ever transport workers strike in Australia. These are the workers who keep our country moving. They move goods for some of the biggest businesses in the country, like Aldi, Amazon, BHP, Metcash, Coca-Cola and BlueScope.

Today I rise in solidarity with these workers. Transport workers are fighting for a fairer, safer future in an industry that is getting deadlier. They're standing up for decent pay that brings them in line with industry standards and for a real say in what happens to their jobs as automation and AI transform their industry, because no worker should be paid 20 or 30 per cent less than others doing the same job.

Transport workers shouldn't be seeing losses of freight and, in some cases, entire runs to gig-style contract agreements with owner-drivers on piece rates, as we're seeing at FedEx. We've seen what's possible when workers and employers work together. Agreements at Team Global Express, Toll, Linfox and BevChain have delivered wage increases of around 10 to 11 per cent over three years as well as important protections around job security and the future of work.

These workers want fair pay, secure jobs and to come home safely to their families at the end of every shift. Every Aussie worker should expect the same. The Labor Party has always stood for workers' rights and always will.

Today I stand with my friends at TWU. (Time expired)