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EDITORIAL: Driver Inc. Truckers Can’t Have their Cake and Eat it Too

Below is an editorial by Leo Barros, Trucknews.com/Today’s Trucking:

 Another weekend brought another protest to Ontario’s trucking heartland – Brampton. The placards have become a familiar sight and so have the numerous wage theft protests by truck drivers.

Digging deeper into the issue it becomes clear the situation is complicated. Like an onion, there are layers. And as they are peeled, eyes will sting.

These unpaid truckers claim carriers are misclassifying them as independent contractors when they are really employees.

In a recent letter to federal lawmakers, they called for an increase in proactive enforcement and penalties for companies that misclassify workers as independent contractors by using the Driver Inc. model.

But hold on a minute.

I chatted with some of the drivers protesting wage theft during a recent protest. All of them were incorporated. Some admitted they chose Driver Inc. because their earnings would be higher.

Fleet recruitment officials I have spoken with over the years have said that many truckers refuse to work as company drivers. They actively seek employment only at carriers that follow the Driver Inc. model.

 Why? Because these drivers take home more money and write off business expenses for tax purposes.

For example, the latest leased luxury vehicle that is replaced every three years. Fuel purchases for the four-wheeler and meals at restaurants become business expenses. Or a family member who is paid a salary for being a “vice-president” or “director” of the incorporated company. Creative accounting gets into high gear.

 Other drivers I spoke to claimed they were compelled by carriers to choose the incorporated model. This could be the case if the driver is joined at the hip to the company due to a work permit.

It seems to boil down to the fact that the drivers did not complain as long as they were reaping the benefits of the Driver Inc. model.

Why should trucking companies that follow the rules operate at a disadvantage? Why should Canadian taxpayers bear the burden when these drivers and their dependants access our universal health care, free education system and welfare programs?

They have my sympathy, but not my respect. They can’t have their cake and eat it too.

Click here for the full article.

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