Members encouraged to report industry’s hidden activities to prompt enforcement by Commissioner

IN response to a just-released bulletin by the BC Container Trucking Commissioner (http://obcctc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2020-04-OBCCTC-Bulletin-Off-Dock-Rates-and-Truck-Tag-Requirements-FINAL.pdf), the United Truckers Association (“UTA”) is launching the “Report Illegal Off-Dock Work” campaign to counteract rampant unlawful activities in the local drayage sector.

The UTA says there are two critical passages in the Commissioner’s update regarding off-dock work that have inspired this initiative:

1)      “It is a requirement that all licence holders pay the Commissioner’s rates…for both trip rate and hour-rate paid drivers…”

2)      “Licensees are reminded…it is a requirement of the Regulation and section 6.9 of the CTS Licence that they use tagged trucks for all on and off-dock moves.”

Even though these are requirements that have existed since the launch of the Container Trucking Act & Regulation in 2014, they have never been properly enforced, according to UTA spokesperson Gagan Singh.

“There is rampant use of unlicensed, untagged trucks that are paid well below the legislated rates for off-dock work because a port pass is not required,” explains Singh. “The UTA was happy to receive the bulletin, but we also understand that the only way that the industry will abide by these rules is through strict enforcement from the Commissioner.”

The “Report Illegal Off-Dock Work” campaign is encouraging UTA member Independent Operators as well as employee drivers to contact the UTA and report specifics around illegal off-dock activity – truck trip logs, truck numbers, or even photographs – that can then be forwarded to the Commissioner.

The identity of any individual who provides information will be protected and kept confidential.

 
This kind of proof is the key to solving the age-old off-dock problem of using illegal operators, as the Commissioner’s audits over the past five years have been unable to identify and target such practices, says the UTA.

“The Commissioner needs the help of the driver community to ensure that his office is aware of as many instances of illegal activity as possible, and the UTA is prepared to take on this responsibility,” adds Singh. “With off-dock work representing over half of all drayage transactions in Metro Vancouver, this is a problem that if solved, could represent a significant increase in earnings for licensed legal drivers, which is even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic.”