Workers in the gig economy could receive fairer wages and guaranteed protections under a historic agreement signed between Uber and the Transportation Workers Union (TWU).
Key points:
- Uber and the Transportation Workers Union will put pressure on the government to have laws to protect workers from concerts
- It occurs when seven food delivery people died at work in 2020
- The new federal government and the NSW government have pointed to the need for labor relations reform
The principle agreement signed yesterday supports the introduction of a “safety net” of minimum income, a mechanism for resolving disputes and the creation of a collective body to represent car drivers and dealers.
Uber Australia CEO Dom Taylor said the deal balanced work flexibility in concert with more protections for drivers.
“What we are trying to do is improve the quality of independent work for car-sharing drivers and online food delivery drivers,” he said.
Xiaojun Chen, who worked for the Hungry Panda food delivery service, died when his motorcycle collided with a bus in Zetland. (Supplied)
Michael Kaine of the TWU said concert workers had been a feature of the Australian economy since 2011.
“Our laws are hopelessly obsolete. If you’re an employee and you’re classified as such, you get all the rights we’ve accumulated over decades,” Kaine said.
“(But) if you are an independent contractor, even if you depend a lot on the entity that hired you, you suddenly don’t get rights or conditions.”
The family of Hungry Panda driver Xiaojun Chen received $ 830,000 in compensation this week after the 43-year-old was killed while working in Sydney in September 2020.
Chen was one of seven food delivery drivers who died at work in 2020.
Bec Nyst, CEO of Uber Eats, Dom Taylor, CEO of Uber and Michael Kaine, of TWU, after signing the deal. (Supplied)
Kaine said his deaths highlighted the urgent need for reform.
Currently, workers in the gig economy are not entitled to benefits such as minimum wages, workers ’compensation or sick leave because they are considered independent contractors, rather than employees.
The Statement of Principles would allow Uber and TWU to work together to directly pressure the federal government to reform labor relations law to enshrine protections for concert workers.
The travel giant and the union will also support the creation of an independent federal body that enforces the minimum income protections and conditions for all concert workers.
Uber’s Dom Taylor said he hoped this would lead to a reform that better reflects the needs of the gig economy.
“We have an archaic labor relations system that creates a clear dichotomy between contractors and employees,” he said.
“Flexibility has had to be changed for things like benefits and protections, and we don’t think it has to be that way.”
Mr. Kaine agreed.
“It’s about making sure flexibility is a genuine choice for workers and not just a buzzword that is used to scam people,” he said.
“If we can get to a place where we have a system that supports workers … and there is still a genuine option, then we will get the best of all worlds and we are modernizing our system in a way that will serve us. future. “
Both the new federal government and the NSW government have pointed to the need for labor relations reform to better protect concert workers.
Posted 2 hours ago Tuesday, June 28, 2022 at 11:20 PM, updated 1 hour, 1 hours ago, Tuesday, June 28, 2022 at 11:50 PM