CTA Blue Ribbon Task Force Provides Leadership,
Direction on Shrinking the Driver Shortage
Landmark report examines labour system, outlines
core values and issues call to action
(OTTAWA, April 11, 2012) -- A new, eye-opening report by
the Canadian Trucking Alliance is arguably the most comprehensive and
honest attempt to tackle the burning questions surrounding motor
carriers' biggest operational concern -- the impending shortage of
qualified commercial drivers in Canada and some ground breaking new
ideas to try and fix it.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance Board of Directors has
endorsed a report from the CTA Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Driver
Shortage – a group established in 2011 to provide leadership on
what many carriers say is the industry's greatest long-term challenge
but where little consensus has emerged in terms of finding solutions to
the problem.
While the report highlights the usual "systemic issues"
behind the shortage -- such as driver demographics, public perceptions
of the occupation, an unpopular lifestyle, not being deemed a skilled
occupation and regulations – it also holds up a mirror to the
industry and attempts to incite a national dialogue within the
transportation community. The report purposefully does not shy away from
discussing some of the more contentious issues linked to the driver
shortage, including compensation (which the report says "is inescapably
the overriding issue" that needs to be resolved) and the need for
organized immigration strategies.
The report cites the "traditional 'piece work' pay
system" as one of the key reasons for the driver shortage, explaining
that it "places the burden of inefficiencies of the freight system
created by others onto the backs of drivers" and states that
compensation packages for truck drivers -- especially long-haul
operators -- "are no longer competitive with other industries" competing
with our industry for a share of the shrinking labour market pool.
While the report acknowledges that an hourly pay system
may be a "relevant consideration" in some segments of the industry where
driving is the sole function or in short-haul/city P&D operations,
it is not a solution for the industry at large. The "reality is that
drivers do inevitably arrive at some sort of per hour calculation of
what they are paid," it concludes. "Carriers must be competitive with
each other. The key is not necessarily how drivers are paid, but how
much they are paid." At the same time, the industry needs to do a better
job compensating drivers for additional work they do as well as make pay
packages more transparent in order to help drivers predict what their
pay will be from week to week.
A key feature of the report is a core values statement
by the Blue Ribbon Task Force to "guide the industry in the development
of an action plan now and its efforts in the future." According to the
task force, "industry leaders need to make a strong statement
demonstrating to current and future drivers that we are serious about
coming to grips with the issues that underpin the driver shortage."
(See appendix below for a selection of core values
declarations issued by the Task Force and approved by the CTA
Board).
In addition to demographics, compensation, and driver
quality of life, driver qualification is also identified as one of the
key underpinnings of the shortage. To address that, the core values
contain the recommendation that "a minimum standard of entry level
apprenticeship or apprenticeship-like truck driver training should be
mandatory" and there should also be a program of "ongoing training
and/or certification" throughout a driver's career.
The report concedes there is merit – at least in
the short-term -- in the argument that a driver shortage is good for the
industry in that it creates tightness in capacity which in turn places
upward pressure on freight rates. The report acknowledges "there will be
no quick fixes, no magic bullets" and that "in the short and
medium-term, the situation and its resulting impact on capacity is
unlikely to change."
However, it contends that in the longer-term the
capacity imbalance is not sustainable and that "the combination of a
shrinking labour pool and economic growth will, at some point in the
future, create a situation where the industry will not be able to meet
the standards of service that have been the hallmark of trucking’s
rise" to dominance.
The report declares unequivocally that drivers are the
industry's number one resource; its backbone. "Without them there is no
industry."
Furthermore, the trucking industry should not look to other groups to
solve its own labour problems, states the report. The onus for creating
solutions lies with the carriers – the entities that hire, fire,
determine what and how to pay drivers; who price their service and deal
with their customers; and who are ultimately responsible for their
businesses and for ensuring they have the people to do the work." Other
stakeholders, such as customers, associations and government, also have
roles to play but "will be of only limited assistance until the carriers
first take action themselves."
David Bradley, CEO of the Alliance, says that addressing
the driver shortage will require a long, multi-year effort. "The Blue
Ribbon Task Force is providing the necessary leadership and has scoped
out a coherent direction that the CTA board has now endorsed," he said.
"But, the report is not the final word on the matter; it is the
beginning of a long journey. Ultimately, it is market forces and how all
motor carriers and their customers respond which will determine how the
issue is resolved."
The members of the CTA Blue Ribbon Task Force on the
Driver Shortage include: Paul Easson (CTA Immediate Past-Chair), Eassons
Transport, NS; Gord Peddle (CTA Executive Committee, Chairman of the
Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC)), Atlantic
Diversified, NF; Don Streuber (CTA Chair), Bison Transport, MB; Mark
Seymour (CTA 1st Vice Chair), Kriska Transportation, ON; Brian Taylor
(CTA Board, OTA Chair), Liberty Linehaul, ON; Bruno Muller (CTA Past
Chair), Caron Transport, AB; Ed Malysa (CTA Secretary), Trimac
Transportation, AB; and, Carl Rosenau (CTA Board, Alberta Motor
Transport Association (AMTA) Chair), Rosenau Transport, AB. Secretariat
and other assistance provided by CTA President & CEO, David
Bradley; Bob Dolyniuk, Executive Director of the Manitoba Trucking
Association (and member of the CTHRC executive committee); Angela
Splinter, Executive Director of CTHRC; and Ron Lennox, CTA Vice
President.
Sample of Core Values
The CTA Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Driver Shortage
States the Following:
● Truck drivers are our most important asset, the
face of the industry -- to our customers and to the public … and
they are deserving of respect.
● Truck drivers should have an improved ability to
predict what their weekly pay is going to be; compensation packages need
to be competitive with or better than alternative employment options and
more transparent;
● Truck drivers should be paid for all the work
that they do and earn enough to cover all reasonable out-of-pocket
expenses incurred while on the road for extended periods.
● (Drivers’) time at work should not be
wasted -- at shipper/consignee premises, waiting for their trucks in the
shop, or waiting for a response to a question of their carrier;
● (Drivers) should be able to rely on their
carrier not to interfere with their personal time by (for example)
calling them back to work early;
● Driver wellness should be a top priority for
employers;
● A minimum standard of entry level,
apprenticeship or apprenticeship-like truck driver training should be
mandatory;
● Truck driving should be considered a skilled
trade and be recognized as such by the various levels and branches of
government, standards councils, etc., who certify such things;
To request a copy of the full report, please email Marco.Beghetto@ontruck.org