Push to gain better pay and conditions for gig economy workers

Parcel couriers and food delivery riders are among the Australian gig economy workers who could soon enjoy improved pay and conditions.

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) is today making submissions to the Fair Work Commission as ground-breaking employment laws come into force.

The move aims to secure authorised workplace protections, including a safety net on pay, company-funded superannuation and safety training, for independent contractors at companies such as UberEats and Hungry Panda.

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Gig workers, owner-driver couriers and truckies have access to the Fair Work Commission for the first time.

An expert panel at the industrial relations umpire has been set up to make the road transport industry "safe, sustainable and viable".

The TWU said its applications to the Fair Work Commission were "designed to address exploitative practices and economic pressures on workers and transport operators most vulnerable to a decades-long crisis in Australia's deadliest industry".

During the past 10 years, truck crashes have claimed 1785 lives and 486 transport workers have died on the job, including 19 transport gig workers.

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According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, 3577 transport business entered insolvency, costing thousands of jobs

Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt announced the new laws this week.

"The commission's new powers will ensure gig workers, such as those in rideshare, food delivery and care work, no longer fall through the cracks."

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TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said every household was impacted by transport workers and they deserved safer workplaces.

"We share the roads with trucks, courier vans and food delivery bikes every day.

"With the boom of online retail and food delivery, consumers have come to expect rapid deliveries to our doors, but also expect that drivers are paid properly and work under safe conditions. From today, at last, that reality is coming into focus."

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