Australia: Uber joins forces with Transport Workers Union in push for better working conditions in gig economy

US ride hailing giant Uber and the Transport Workers Union of Australia have penned an historic agreement in which they jointly call for the creation of an independent body tasked with setting minimum standards for the working conditions of platform workers. This body will have the capacity to: set minimum earnings; facilitate a mechanism to resolve disputes, such as when platform workers see their accounts deactivated; ensure the right of platform workers to be represented by a trade union; and make sure the country’s legislation allows these objectives to be reached. Michael Kaine, national secretary of the TWU, says the deal marks a “significant and positive development in the years-long campaign led by gig economy workers to modernise out-of-date industrial laws”. He also underlines that the agreement “sends a strong signal to the newly-minted Federal Government that it must act”, referring to the recent election win of prime minister Anthony Albanese, of the Labour Party, who wants to regulate the gig economy. Meanwhile Dom Taylor, Uber general manager in Australia and New Zealand, says: “Whilst Uber and TWU may not seem like obvious allies, we’ve always agreed that driver and delivery partners must come first.” The deal follows similar agreements reached in Canada and the UK (see article n°12543).