Xiaojun Chen (right) with his family,who have received a payout from his employer’s insurer.
The death of HungryPanda worker Xiaojun Chen,along with four other delivery couriers in a three-month span in 2020,sparked a promise from federal Labor to legislate more protections for gig workers,who typically work flexibly and are not on salaried contracts but paid per task.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said on Wednesday that without a federal scheme,gig workers faced the prospect of having to pursue individual cases through the courts with different outcomes in different states. “No matter which way you look at it,the days of gig workers having no entitlements cannot go on,” Burke said.
Unlike traditional employees,the couriers used by firms such as Deliveroo,DoorDash,Uber and the Chinese food-focused HungryPanda do not have rights to an industry minimum wage,workers’ compensation or unfair dismissal protection.
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Chen’s widow,Lihong Wei,their two children and his father allrelied on his income back home in China. They will receive a combined $827,400 plus interest. In a statement issued through law firm Slater and Gordon and the Transport Workers Union,which have assisted the family,Wei spoke of her devastation.
“My children miss their daddy every day,” she said. “My daughter has begun struggling with school and my son has lost his father forever at just eight years old. My father-in-law has lost his only son.
Nothing can ever fix this.”
NSW Personal Injury Commission documents show insurer EML,which is an agent of the NSW workers’ compensation scheme iCare,agreed that Chen was employed by HungryPanda at the time of his death.