The latest dispute centres on a proposal from the transport union to shift the burden of spiralling fuel bills away from owner-drivers and onto major buyers of freight services. This comes after months of rising diesel prices linked to conflict in the Middle East, which have squeezed small trucking businesses that already run on tight margins. Large retailers and industrial groups now find themselves in the middle, arguing they have had little time to assess how the plan might reshape costs and consumer prices.
Under Labor’s new supply chain rules, the union has asked the workplace tribunal to make an urgent order so that sharp increases in fuel expenses can be passed up the chain to big retailers, manufacturers and logistics customers. The Fair Work Commission is expected to release a draft decision affecting hundreds of thousands of businesses after emergency hearings held over just a few days. Retail groups say the process has moved so quickly, following a government push late last week, that there has been no chance to properly test how much the change could add to inflation or alter long-term contracts.
Fuel is now the single biggest cost for many owner-drivers, with diesel jumping from roughly one-fifth to as much as half or even three-fifths of total operating expenses since March, and industry groups warn that many small operators are at risk of going under without relief. The union’s strategy looks like it could stabilise parts of the trucking sector and keep goods moving but it also seems likely to push more of the fuel shock onto major retailers and ultimately households already under pressure from higher living costs.
