Thank you drivers this holiday season

Rideshare and taxi drivers will be working around the clock this holiday season to keep Australians safe and get them where they need to go.

Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt thanked workers for their efforts, and urged all Australians to treat them with respect.

“Without rideshare and taxi drivers who are willing to work while others are celebrating, many Australians would be facing very long treks home,” Minister Watt said.

“Drivers are often missing time with their loved ones to earn an income. I know Australians are grateful for their efforts, and the best way they can show it is by being polite and respectful during trips.

“There are unfortunately a number of examples of drivers being abused whilst working, and it isn’t on.”

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, of the many Australians who work for a digital platform, 30 percent work in rideshare or personal transport, while 51 percent deliver food or other goods.

This year, the Albanese Government has implemented world-leading workplace protections for rideshare drivers, as well as food delivery drivers and truck drivers because, like all Australian workers, they should be treated fairly and have secure work.

For the first time, the Fair Work Commission now has the power to set tailored, enforceable minimum standards for ‘employee-like’ workers in the gig economy. This can deal with matters like minimum rates of pay, cost recovery and consultation.

The Commission is currently considering two applications for employee-like minimum standards for food and beverage delivery gig workers and ‘last-mile’ parcel delivery gig workers respectively.

From 26 February next year, gig workers will also have access to better protections to prevent them from being unfairly let go from work. Currently, there are no consistent national rules governing the termination of these workers’ contracts, or remedies when contract terminations or deactivations occur unfairly. The Digital Labour Platform Deactivation Code will require digital platform businesses covered by the Code to follow a fair process before deactivating an ‘employee-like’ gig worker. The Code has been developed with engagement from platform businesses including Uber, Menulog and Doordash, as well as road transport industry businesses and unions.

“These reforms will help keep rideshare and delivery drivers who are doing the right thing, on the road and providing the services that Australians are increasingly relying on,” Minister Watt.

“And the Commission’s new powers will ensure gig workers no longer fall through the cracks. Because rideshare and food delivery workers shouldn’t have to choose between safety and getting paid.

“These world-leading reforms from the Albanese Government were driven by industry and unions, and they will make a big difference to these workers.”

The minimum standards for gig workers and unfair deactivation and termination protections are part of the Albanese Government’s Closing Loopholes legislation, to stop the undercutting of workers’ pay, conditions and safety.