More than 240 trucks have crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge in a convoy as part of a nationwide union campaign to reinstate minimum trucking pay rates.
The minimum rate for truck drivers was abolished in April when the Turnbull government, with help from independent senator Glenn Lazarus, abolished the wage-setting Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT).
Protest action occurred across the country on Sunday morning, with South Australian drivers staging a "go-slow" along the South Eastern Freeway in Adelaide and drivers in Melbourne crossing the West Gate Bridge in a 50-vehicle convoy.
Transport workers in Perth and Darwin protested outside their state parliaments, while Queensland drivers held a community meeting at the CWA Hall in Redcliffe, north of Brisbane.
Transport Workers' Union (TWU) national secretary Tony Sheldon said the day of action proved communities were fed up with death and injuries caused by financial pressures so "wealthy retailers, manufacturers, oil companies and banks can make profits".
"These wealthy clients must take responsibility for the drivers, which deliver their goods, who are being forced to speed, drive long hours, skip mandatory rest breaks and skip maintenance on their vehicles," Mr Sheldon said.
"Hundreds are dying every year because of this."
Sue Posnakidis, whose brother John died in a truck crash in 2010, told the Adelaide rally her brother's death wasn't an accident.
"The driver who crashed into him was inexperienced, fatigued and driving a truck which had faulty brakes," she said.
"I want to make sure no other family goes through what mine is still going through."
However, Australian Trucking Association chief of staff Bill McKinley said the RSRT had increased the costs of owner-drivers by more than 20 per cent, rendering them uncompetitive.
Mr McKinley said transport law reforms, stronger penalties and an overhaul of truck driver training were more likely to reduce the road toll in the long term.
He said evidence linking minimum rates and road safety was tenuous and only propagated by unions such as the TWU.
"We have called on political parties and candidates to confirm they will not re-establish the RSRT or any similar price fixing mechanism," Mr McKinley said.
"What Australia needs is practical measures to improve road safety."
