More deaths on Australian roads could be avoided if federal parliament passed crucial legislation to ensure minimum standards in the road transport industry.
Truck drivers, gig workers and union officials held a vigil outside parliament in Canberra on Tuesday to remember the 235 people who have died in truck crashes in the last 12 months.
Attendees, including Labor senator Tony Sheldon, laid hi-vis vests and white t-shirts to honour those killed, representing 58 workers and 177 others.
The road transport industry is calling for crossbenchers to support Labor's amendments to the Fair Work Act, which would create minimum standards in the road transport industry and regulate some of the gig economy.
Food delivery driver and gig worker Nabin Adhikari told AAP the changes would address the omission of the gig economy from many statistics on road deaths, as well as regulation.
"It's taking so long. There must be so many incidents, so many deaths which have never been reported due to lack of legislative obligations," Mr Adhikari said.
He regularly delivers food to Parliament House, but said "everybody in that building knows we exist, but no one can show me ... how we exist as a worker".
At least four gig workers died in 2023 while on the road.
Low pay and poor safety standards were identified by a senate committee as a major cause of road transport deaths.
Transport workers are 13 times more likely to die at work than any other employees, according to the Transport Worker's Union.
Union national secretary Michael Kaine said the bill was critical to ensuring the "absolutely horrific" road death toll was addressed.
"This is not just us speaking - it's academic studies, it's coronial inquiries, government reports and judicial decisions that shows the link between safety outcomes and pressures that transport workers are under," he said.
"That link between pay and safety has been established ... and it's what this bill seeks to address."
The opposition has signalled it will oppose the bill, but crossbenchers Jacqui Lambi and David Pocock - who last year successfully split portions of the initial Fair Work legislation to be carried through parliament - are still negotiating with the government.
