Key Points
- Uber has submitted a report arguing that prices for both rideshare and food delivery services are set to soar.
- The federal government is debating the Closing Loopholes Bill in the Senate.
- The bill aims to provide gig workers with a minimum wage and penalty rates, as well as criminalising wage theft.
Delivery giant Uber has warned that consumers will fork out substantially more for both food deliveries and rideshare services if the Albanese government passes its workplace reforms.
The Senate is debating the Closing Loopholes Bill, which would enable the Fair Work Commission to set minimum standards for gig workers, including penalty rates.
However, Uber suggests the move could cost consumers roughly 55 per cent more for trips and 65 per cent extra for delivery services without more clearly defined regulatory boundaries.
Evenings, weekends and public holidays would be even more expensive, with the price hikes expected to flow through to fewer orders from restaurants and cafes.
The modelling is based on a scenario where drivers and delivery workers are paid base rates of pay, penalty rates, expense reimbursement and compulsory super.
The company has been broadly supportive of the federal government's push for better protections for workers but wants to preserve the flexibility of the work, such as control over when they work and what trips they accept.
Many gig workers earning below minimum wage
Australia has roughly 250,000 gig workers nationwide, .
A study conducted by The McKell Institute found low pay was the biggest concern for this workforce, with at least 45 per cent of gig workers earning less than minimum wage.
It said that while 41 per cent of these workers reported working overtime, they didn't earn penalty rates.
Transport Workers' Union national assistant secretary Nick McIntosh will give workers "minimum rights and standards".
Speaking to the National Press Club in August, Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke responded to concerns the laws could see consumers pay more for items they order to their door, saying: "underpaying people is cheaper".
"Slavery is probably cheaper, too,” he said.
What are the proposed changes?
Under Labor's proposed gig work reforms, "employee-like" workers using digital labour platforms would get a separate classification from contractors and employees and be subject to their own unique set of protections.
The new category will ostensibly protect the flexible nature of the work while also providing minimum standards, limiting regulatory options to terms such as pay and insurance.
the Closing Loopholes Bill also cracks down on the use of labour hire workers to undercut the rate of pay agreed for employees, criminalises wage theft, and creates a pathway for casuals to become permanent.
In a submission to a Senate inquiry into the workplace changes, Uber said the existing wording essentially granted the industrial umpire "non-exhaustive" powers to regulate the new category.
This would leave the door open to terms such as Uber argued.
The company called for a definitive list of terms that can be included for employee-like orders to avoid "unintended consequences and extensive Fair Work Commission proceedings".
An Uber spokesperson said the company was still committed to working collaboratively with the government on the "once-in-a-generation reforms".
"While our submission outlines some potential impacts of the bill as it is written, we believe these can all be avoided with some practical amendments that more clearly address the unique qualities of platform work," the spokesperson said.
Business groups and the opposition have been highly critical of the bill, and there have been calls to split out the less controversial parts so they can be fast-tracked.
The Senate inquiry is due to report on the bill on 1 February.
