Busy beavers at the Secretariat

The Round Up

Well, hello! Thanks for stopping by…

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but we’ve been busy beavers here at the Secretariat over the last few months. Not only are we absolutely thrilled to welcome Varenya Mohan-Ram as the new Executive Director of the Bus Industry Confederation, if you take a peek at the Advocating for the Industry highlights, you’ll see that we have been working tirelessly to ensure that bus and coach is in the minds of decision makers.

We were lucky enough to spend a day ‘up on the hill’ advocating on behalf of the industry. Even though it was budget, we secured meetings with no less than six ministers, senators and or their advisors. In our snappily titled #ThrivetoDrive, we called on government and opposition to help us end the driver shortage by:

  • Increasing the earnings cap on the pension to allow drivers to work longer hours;
  • Recognising the professionalism of our drivers by opening up funding and pathway opportunities in training and immigration, as well as be afforded protections under the Criminal, and
  • Harmonising licencing, authorities and training to make it easier to become and stay a driver.

All sensible and low- to no-cost options for the government to consider – we’re here for it and we’ll keep beating that drum!

For all you IR nerds out there (me included), APTIA is now represented on the Road Transport Advisory Group (RTAG) Contractual Chain Order Subcommittee. We’re excited about the opportunities it can bring the industry, so watch this space.

I can’t sign off without noting that one of the highlights over the past few months was attending and presenting at the QBIC Conference. What an amazing time of learning, connecting and celebrating QBIC’s 25th anniversary. A wonderful achievement by the QBIC team.

Thanks to everyone who has been so engaged and provided me with valuable insights (translation: laughed at my jokes); I look forward to getting out and meeting more of you in person over the coming months.

Kirsten Jongsma
National Industrial Relations Manager 
APTIA | BIC

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