New terms and conditions for Uber Eats riders will heap more pressure on them and distance the company from accountability, according to the Transport Workers Union.
Uber Eats delivery riders were sent a new contract this week before its 1 March introduction.
The TWU says Uber is seeking to distance itself from responsibility to riders injured on the job, with the new contract saying that they should take out their own workers’ compensation insurance.
The contract also says riders can have their pay revoked without a right of reply if a customer complaint is received, according to the TWU.
The new terms and conditions come after five delivery riders from multiple companies died in a two-month period last year.
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said the new contract would put increased pressure on delivery riders.
He said new clauses allowing workers to work for other apps at the same time were designed to make it harder for riders to claim employee protections.
“Uber’s intention is to sit back and count their money while transferring all the risk onto underpaid riders sweating on the streets under unrealistic time pressures that are endangering their lives,” Mr Kaine said.
“It is abhorrent that Uber’s response to five food delivery riders killed in Australia last year is an attempt to distance itself from accountability and silence riders,” he added.
The union was also critical of a clause saying that riders can be immediately terminated under the new contract if “the rider engages in conduct that has the potential to cause adverse publicity, media attention or regulatory scrutiny or which may be detrimental to Uber's reputation or brand.”
But an Uber spokesperson told SBS News the clause relating to riders speaking out about their conditions to the media or regulatory bodies would be removed from the final contract.
“One of the reasons why we provided a copy of the agreement in advance was to give delivery persons the opportunity to review it, ask questions and provide feedback. Based on the initial feedback we have made the decision to remove this clause from the final version of the agreement before it is sent out again ahead March 1," the spokesperson said.
They said the contract changes were simply part of a new business model designed to improve the experience for all involved.
“These changes are the realisation of a year long implementation process. This new business model is designed to simplify and improve the experience of eaters, delivery people, restaurants and other merchants who use the Uber Eats platform,” the spokesperson said.
The TWU has written to the Federal Attorney General and Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter asking for a tribunal to be implemented to protect gig economy workers.
