The families of the deceased workers were denied legal compensation because they were not considered employees.
Their deaths occurred amid a Labor-led Senate inquiry into the future of work in NSW, which resulted in more than 20 recommendations including minimum wages, paid time off and other benefits for gig workers at companies such as Minologue, Deliveroo and Hungery Panda.
In its response to the inquiry, submitted to Parliament last week, the government said that all workers should benefit from minimum wage and safety standards in the workplace.
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It said developments in regulating workers’ salaries and conditions since the investigation in 2019 included Menulog seeking a “New On-Demand Delivery Industry Award”, as well as recent agreements between the transport workers’ union and Uber on protecting drivers.
The government rejected most of the commission’s recommendations. She said the extension of industrial relations legislation was “not viable,” and argued that the majority of people working in temporary jobs should still be considered non-employees or contractors.
He did not take a position on recommending full workers compensation benefits, but said the regulator continues to study reform options.
Treasury and opposition spokesman Daniel Mukhi insisted that NSW needed to update the laws to accommodate the new ways of working.
“The business has changed,” he said, “but our laws haven’t.” “If we had another decade of drifting, more NSW workers would go home injured.”
Mukhi said Labor policy does not propose redefining temporary job workers as employees, just to provide minimum standards regardless of work status.
It would run in parallel with the federal government’s pledge to give the Fair Work Commission the power to set minimum wages and conditions for temporary job workers. Uber and the Transportation Association agreed earlier this year to support a version of that policy.
Queensland recently introduced legislation to set minimum standards for temporary job workers, while the Victorian state government is proposing standards that would require delivery platforms to comply with payment and bargaining terms.
Mark Morey, head of the NSW unions, said the big companies in the temporary jobs economy need to be good citizens as part of their social license to operate.
“No matter what job you do, you should at least know the minimum wage rate,” he said. “This, along with improved safety, means that jobs in the gig economy become viable, not just jobs in the electronically hungry mile.”
Hireup’s online platform, which connects people with disabilities to support workers, employs all of its workers at equivalent wages and workers compensation insurance, while other competitor platforms engage workers as independent contractors.
Jordan O’Reilly, Hireup’s co-CEO, said Labor’s proposal would balance the playing field between benefits-providing employers and non-entitlement labor economy contractor platforms.
“It is right to protect workers, and it is right for companies to play a responsible role in society.”
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Originally published at Melbourne News Vine
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