SYDNEY Reuters -- Uber Technologies Inc and Australia agreed on Tuesday to back a federal body that enforces minimum pay for the company's drivers, joining a global thawing of relations between the ride-hailing giant and industrial bodies.
A joint statement from Uber and the Transport Workers Union TWU said they signed an agreement to support an unspecified federal body to set minimum and transparent earnings and benefits for platform workers. The new body would also oversee disputes that resulted in drivers in the so-called gig economy having their accounts shut off, and protect drivers' rights to organise with a collective voice.
The move is a symbolic response by the San Francisco tech giant to pressured unions around the world to put a floor under wages that supersedes its fee-setting algorithms.
The company has struck similar agreements with unions in Britain, Canada and some U.S. states, but often after court rulings or changes to the law favoring guaranteed levels of pay.
In February 2021, a court in Britain ruled that Uber's drivers were entitled to the national minimum wage. In May, the company said it would recognize Britain's GMB trade union.
Australian courts have supported Uber's argument that its drivers are independent contractors. In April of this year, an inquiry by the state of New South Wales recommended setting up a tribunal to set minimum pay and conditions for gig workers. Uber said that paying drivers a minimum wage would stop them from using other platforms and force them to accept a set number of rides, which would undermine their flexibility.
In a statement on Tuesday, Uber general manager for Australia Dom Taylor said the company wanted to see a level playing field for the industry and preserve the flexibility that gig workers value.
He added that it is important that earners continue to be part of the regulatory conversation and that their collective voice is heard.
TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said the agreement was a significant and positive development in the years-long campaign led by gig economy workers to modernise out-of-date industrial laws.