Trucking Tragedies: Why Occupational Health and Safety Outcomes are Worse for Subcontract Workers in the Road Transport Industry

Over the past decade the rapid expansion in outsourcing/subcontracting has caused a significant shift in labour markets and work organisation within many industrialised societies. The occupational health and safety (OHS) consequences of subcontracting have received little attention from industrial relations researchers. This paper examines the OHS implications of subcontracting in the Australian road transport industry by comparing self-employed and emplyee transport workers.