Food delivery riders are subject to abuse and theft during their shifts,a government report has found.Credit:James Brickwood
The report's executive summary,seen by theHerald,said most riders were men under 30 who had travelled to Australia on student visas with"relatively low level of workplace health and safety knowledge".
It found workers often suffered verbal abuse and robbery or vandalism of delivery equipment and were at risk of traffic accidents.
While food delivery platforms,such as UberEats and Deliveroo,have implemented mechanisms to report incidents,the companies acknowledged the low number of reports was a concern. They said fears of the repercussions of lodging a report could be contributing to this.
"Until now there has been a lack of research around the nature of the risks facing gig economy delivery workers which has made it difficult for policy makers to determine how best to respond to this emerging sector,"said Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation Kevin Anderson.
A NSW parliamentary inquiry into the industry also conducted its first public hearing on Monday,in which food delivery riders revealed the dangerous and inconsistent workplace conditions they were forced to navigate.
Food delivery worker Esteban Salazar,who arrived in Australia from Colombia in March,was hit by a tram in Sydney’s CBD in September after he slipped while riding over the tracks.
Mr Salazar said while UberEats had paid for 30 days of lost work,there was no worker's insurance provided to him,and he had to rely on his own insurance purchased under his student visa.