BP warned of safety issues: union

August 07:

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) wrote twice to BP this year warning of fatal consequences from "critical safety issues" in the company's tanker fleet.
BP has pulled its national fleet from service following a crash on Thursday on the Victorian-NSW border, in which three people were killed.
A four-year-old boy, his mother and another woman died when a trailer came loose and smashed into two cars near Wodonga.
BP said it was incredibly saddened by the loss of life and the company was working with investigators, as was the truck driver.
But it has been revealed that safety concerns were raised with the company in May following several accidents involving tanker drivers.
The TWU wrote twice to BP, the first time on May 26, warning of driver concerns about "possible aberrations" in contracting practices in Western Australia, where drivers were being pressured into working shifts more than 16 hours long.
"Although 17-hour shifts may be permissible at law, we are sure you share our concerns about the extreme fatigue that is suffered by drivers after that long behind the wheel," the TWU said in its letter to BP.
In the letter, the union cited a fatal 2011 smash in Myalup, WA, that left two men dead and for which fatigue was blamed.
The union also referred to two incidents in 2013, including a Sydney incident in which two men lost their lives after a tanker exploded and crashed into their car, plus another fatal tanker crash in Queensland.
"In all cases, it was found that safety standards were lacking at each step in the supply chain," the letter said.
The union's national secretary, Tony Sheldon, offered at the time to sit down with the company to discuss safety, but BP declined.
A second letter was sent to BP on June 10 requesting a meeting to discuss safety, but the company did not respond.
TWU acting national secretary Michael Kain said on Friday that legal action would be launched against "rogue" operators in the oil, fuel and gas industries.
"Petrol tankers are literally mobile bombs," Mr Kain said.
"This is an industry which is under immense pressure and that pressure comes from the very top of the transport chains, major retailers like Coles, major fuel companies.
"They're squeezing every last dollar out of these transport chains and that means that maintenance is abandoned, it means that truck drivers are forced to stay on the road too long or drive too fast to make a living for themselves and their families."
Source: https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/national/a/24666326/?

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