STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator SHELDON (New South Wales—Chief Government Whip in the Senate) (13:51): When standing up for better pay and conditions gets you sacked and tossed aside like yesterday's rubbish, the company starts looking less like a business and more like thugs. That's what is happening right now at Border Express. On Monday 17 August, Transport Workers' Union members at Queensland depot voted 90 per cent in favour of taking protected industrial action.

Just two days later, Border Express called 24 permanent employees into individual meetings and told them they were getting sacked. Surprise, surprise, 20 of them were TWU members planning to take that action! These are some of the lowest paid workers in the industry, earning up to 33 per cent less than workers at other major operators.

Joseph, a father of six and a forklift driver with 17 years in the industry, was one of them. He said: It hurt, considering the effort I put into my job. It was clear we're just a number.

They've tried to intimidate us time and time again. Border express is one of Australia's major freight operators, moving goods from clients like Harvey Norman, Chemist Warehouse and EB Games. Thankfully, these workers have a strong union in their corner.

The TWU took Border Express to the Federal Court and won an injunction stopping the sackings while the case is decided. The TWU has reached agreements at major companies like Toll and Linfox and Bevchain, who've been providing fair pay and job security. But they're being undercut by corporate bottom feeders like Border Express and FedEx and squeezed from above by predatory bullies like Aldi and Amazon, all making the industry even more dangerous and treating workers like barcodes with a pulse.

Today, thousands of transport workers across the country will strike for 24 hours in a fight for safe and secure jobs, the largest TWU strike in decades. To Joseph and everyone striking today, I'm with you.