CANBERRA (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Prior to the anticipated new gig economy regulation from the Albanese government, the ride-sharing industry’s leading company Uber and the Transport Workers’ Union have reached a historic agreement on suggested employment requirements and benefits.
Following months of negotiations, Uber and the union have also decided to jointly support the establishment of a new, independent, government-funded regulatory body to set industry-wide standards for workers engaged in ride-sharing and food delivery gigs.
The body will be in charge of setting minimal, transparent, and legally enforceable pay, benefits, and working conditions for those who operate on ride-sharing platforms in accordance with the established standards. The body will serve as a forum for addressing disagreements over employment-related platform concerns, such as when the account of a worker is deactivated.
The standard also states that workers’ rights to union membership and representation would be upheld.
It is a very impressive document. The national secretary of the Transport Workers’ Union, Michael Kaine, told Guardian Australia that the set of principles is exceptional.
It showed that change was necessary, that a route to change already existed, and that their new federal administration intended to take action in that area as well. Therefore, everything was going their way, he added.
Dominic Taylor, general manager of Uber Australia, stated that the new requirements will still allow for some degree of freedom for drivers and delivery personnel.
Their drivers told them that this flexibility was the reason they kept returning. What they were announcing that day, however, was how to work toward a system that enabled them to also overlay perks that were more frequently connected with an employment-like contract, such as benefits, guarantees, and safety nets, he said.
Prior to the May election, Labour pledged to update the Fair Work Act to take into account the growth of the gig economy. This would include expanding the Fair Work Commission’s jurisdiction to include “employee-like” forms of work, such as gig economy work, so that it could establish minimum standards.
According to Kaine, the new dispute mechanism should be created so that employees can feel certain that if they follow the rules, they will be paid a fair salary, receive assistance when anything goes wrong, have access to a system for workplace health and safety, and not be fired without cause.
All of that was part of a package that contributed to the sustainability of the industry. What it would finally look like was something to be seen in the future, he said. However, the goal was to create a long-lasting system with a set of rules that applied to the whole sector, creating a level playing field.
Although Taylor stated that Uber wants other ride-share and delivery services to participate and that the reforms apply to the entire sector, he also emphasised the significance of Uber taking the lead.
Frankly, they needed to take a position of leadership, he added. They were the market leader in both the ride-share and online food delivery sectors with over 100,000 drivers and delivery personnel generating money through Uber every month. That was why they were eager to partner with [the TWU] in travelling to Canberra to present their perspective on how to raise the standard of independent work in Australia, he added.
