Logistics giant Toll Group has signed an agreement to raise safety standards for its transport workers.
The agreement will cover all Toll employees across its 1200 sites in 50 countries and follows negotiations between the company, the Transport Workers' Union and the International Transport Workers' Federation, TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon said.
"This charter shows Toll's commitment to its employees and its promise to put fairness and safety at the heart of its operations," Mr Sheldon said on Thursday.
The union boss said the commitment from a global player such as Toll would help combat problems in one of Australia's deadliest industries.
The charter includes freedom of association, collective bargaining rights, access rights for workers and a commitment to transparency in the management of the company's supply-chain.
Mr Sheldon said companies such as Toll and Coles, which signed an agreement with the TWU this week to ensure safety for truck drivers in their supply chain, were helping take pressures off workers.
"Workers in our industry literally litter the funeral parlours of this country and others around the world with their dead bodies due to economic greed," he said.
Toll spokesman, Rick Wilmont said the company was committed to continuing its focus on safety.
"We want to be leaders in the industry. We want to create good jobs in the industry and careers," he said.
Margaret Harvey, a long time radio operator at Toll, said she believed the agreement was a win-win for the company and workers.
"I am really proud that the old Australian saying of a fair day's pay for a fair day's work is going to spread internationally," she said.
