3 weeks ago
Australia sets minimum hourly pay for food delivery workers
People who deliver food using apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash are called gig workers.
In Australia, they will now get a minimum amount of money for each hour they are working on a delivery.
This starts on August 17.
The amount depends on how they travel: $31.30 an hour on a bike, $31.80 on a motorcycle, and $32 in a car.
The money only counts for the time between accepting and finishing a delivery, not for waiting around for a new job.
If a worker earns less than that over three weeks, the app company has to pay the difference.
The companies also have to give workers accident insurance.
This is the first rule of its kind in Australia.
It came after almost two years of talks between the union and the delivery companies.
Some companies once said prices would go up a lot, but because they agreed to the deal, big price jumps seem unlikely.
A new Fair Work Commission minimum standards order takes effect August 17 for food delivery gig workers in Australia.
Minimum hourly rates for 'engaged time' are $31.30 for pedal/e-bikes, $31.80 for motorcycles and $32 for cars.
Platforms must top up earnings over 21-day periods if workers fall below the floor; waiting time between jobs is unpaid.
Platforms must now provide a reasonable minimum level of personal accident cover for workers.
The order follows nearly two years of negotiations between the Transport Workers' Union, Uber Eats and DoorDash.
- Who
- Food delivery gig workers in Australia, the Fair Work Commission, the Transport Workers' Union, Uber Eats and DoorDash.
- What
- A new minimum standards order establishing minimum hourly pay for delivery workers' 'engaged time' and new workplace protections.
- Where
- Australia.
- When
- From August 17; the order was handed down the preceding Tuesday.
- Why
- To give gig workers, who lacked employee protections, an earnings floor and better workplace standards.
Supporters of the reforms (union and government)
Platforms and business groups
Delivery prices
Supporters of the reforms (union and government)
Reforms give workers fair pay; big price jumps are unlikely since platforms helped negotiate the deal.
Platforms and business groups
Uber claimed prices could rise up to 85% and DoorDash said they could more than triple.
Job losses
Supporters of the reforms (union and government)
The order provides necessary protections for a vulnerable group of workers.
Platforms and business groups
Uber claimed the reforms would lead to 'catastrophic' job losses.
Regulation of gig work
Supporters of the reforms (union and government)
Closing Loopholes reforms turn a 'cliff' of lost rights into a 'ramp' for non-employee workers.
Platforms and business groups
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the government was taking the country backwards by decades.
Key facts
- Effective date
- August 17
- Minimum rate (pedal/e-bike)
- $31.30 per hour
- Minimum rate (motorcycle)
- $31.80 per hour
- Minimum rate (car)
- $32.00 per hour
- Earnings review period
- 21 days
- Covered platforms
- Uber Eats and DoorDash
- Gig worker fatalities since 2017
- At least 23 (per Transport Workers' Union)
- Scope
- On-demand food and supermarket grocery delivery
Quotes
Tony Burke
Former Australian Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
“If you are an employee, you have a whole series of rights. If you’re not an employee, all of those rights – all of them – fall off a cliff. What we want to do is turn that cliff into a ramp.”
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Sources
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