INTHEBLACK August 2022 - Magazine - Page 27
AT A
GLANCE
Australian gig economy
workers are set to benefit
as new protections roll
out, spurred on by a Fair
Work Commission
finding.
To date, gig workers have
been typically classed as
independent contractors,
leaving them without the
rights of regular
employees and leaving
them vulnerable to
exploitation.
The economy’s growing
dependence on gig
workers signals that the
gig economy is here to
stay.
SHAPING THE
GIG ECONOMY
STORY MEGAN BREEN
W H I L E GI G WO R K CO N TRI BU T ES BI LLI O N S TO T H E AU ST RA LI A N E C O N O MY,
M O ST GI G WO R K E RS D O N’T H AV E T H E SA M E RI G H TS AS RE G U LA R
E M P L OY E ES. H OW E VE R, A S H A KE-U P M AY BE I N T H E WO RKS A F T E R A
R E CE N T FAI R WO R K FI N DI N G A N D DE A LS S I G N E D BE T W E E N T H E T RA N S PORT
WO R K E RS’ U N I O N AN D G I G WO RK P LAT F O RM S DO O RDAS H A N D U BE R.
I
n May 2022, food delivery platform
DoorDash and the Australian Transport
Workers’ Union (TWU) signed a landmark
agreement that may lead to minimum rights and
conditions for its gig economy workers.
This agreement was the first of its kind in
Australia, but it follows other recent wins for gig
workers. These include a Fair Work Commission
finding that riders directly engaged by Menulog
should be covered by the Road Transport and
Distribution Award 2020, thereby giving them
basic employment rights.
The Labor government has also promised to
give the Fair Work Commission powers to set
minimum pay and conditions for gig workers
and other “employee-like” workers, which it
outlined in its Secure Australian Jobs Plan.
These are all positive steps towards improving
workers’ rights in the gig economy, which has
long been a contentious issue. Gig workers
are often classed as independent contractors,
which means because they are not employed
on a formal or full-time basis, they don’t
have the rights and protections that regular
employees have, such as the right to paid leave
or protection from unfair dismissal.
Unions have been arguing the case for basic
rights for gig workers for years, since the term
first started appearing in the mid-2000s.
“Whether it is students, retirees, parents or
small business people, work through apps like
DoorDash appeals to many, because it can fit
around their lives and other commitments.
That’s why we commenced conversations with
the TWU, who have decades of experience
advocating for Australian workers including
independent contractors,” says Rebecca Burrows,
general manager of DoorDash Australia and
New Zealand.
“Years of neglect by the former government
have opened the floodgates to terrible
exploitation in the gig economy. Work has been
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au August 2022 27