Food delivery cyclists and ride-share drivers working for multi-billion dollar companies must have their employment rights protected by the NSW government, a parliamentary committee has found.
"The cyclist who delivers our Friday night takeaway receives next to none of the conditions long considered fair and decent across Australia", Labor MP Daniel Mookhey, who chaired the upper house inquiry into the gig economy, said as he released its report on Wednesday.
"Current laws perpetuate the overwhelming power imbalance between lone 'contractors' and multinational platform companies."
At least five food delivery riders, all from migrant backgrounds, were killed in the space of two months in late 2020 in road accidents while on the job.
Their deaths prompted the establishment of a state government task force last year.
Mr Mookey said lockdowns and other restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic had changed dining and purchasing habits on a large scale and "what was once considered a luxury became crucial both for businesses and customers".
But he criticised the precarious legal status of a Doordash or other food delivery cyclist or an Uber driver as independent contactors under federal laws.
The inquiry report found "the absence of guaranteed minimum wages and working hours, ... paid leave provisions, poor safety standards and the lack of a fair dispute system in the event of workplace injury" was troubling.
Last month, the Transport Workers' Union urged the NSW Coroner to proceed with inquests into the deaths of all of the delivery riders killed in 2020.
The inquiry report made four findings and 22 recommendations to the NSW government to reform the industry.
These include allowing gig economy workers to join a union without fear of any penalties and the setting up of a tribunal with the power to set minimum pay and conditions.
Crucially, the report also recommended that online platforms register with SafeWork NSW before trading, to ensure they meet obligations to make a payout in case of accidents on the job.
Other recommendations addressed access to basic entitlements, adequate insurance, collective bargaining, health and safety measures and compensation.
