Australia’s Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) announced that is has signed a ‘breakthrough’ agreement with work services platform Uber in support of enforceable rights for all workers including gig economy workers.

Uber and the Transport Workers Union have signed a ‘Statement of Principles’ focused on providing a safety net for those working in the gig economy.

The agreement include support for the formation of a platform work-specific independent body to create industry-wide standards for:

1.     Minimum and transparent earnings and benefits/conditions for platform workers.

2.     A mechanism to resolve disputes, such as deactivation of accounts

3.     Ensuring platform workers have a collective voice and can be represented by a registered organisation.

4.     Ensuring the appropriate enforcement exists to meet these standards and objectives.

The principles are intended to cover on-demand delivery and rideshare platform workers in the transport industry who are not engaged as employees. Employees already have entitlements under the Fair Work Act and other legislation. The principles are also the first in Australia to cover gig workers engaged in both food delivery and rideshare.

The TWU and Uber also jointly announced that they further commit to: having further discussions to operationalise the agreed regulatory principles; having good faith discussions aimed at reaching a set of industry standards in relation to the food delivery sector, including with other relevant participants if agreed; and having good faith discussions with the aim of reaching agreement on a set of sector standards for other areas of Uber’s work, including rideshare and the delivery of goods.

“This is a fantastic outcome only possible because scores of gig workers have been prepared to stand up and fight together for a safer more sustainable industry,” the TWU stated.

Uber Australia stated, “This is the first time a platform company in Australia has struck a deal with a union across both the rideshare and food delivery industries and is the result of months of detailed discussions.”

Transport Workers’ Union national secretary, Michael Kaine, told The Guardian Australia, “It is quite a remarkable document. It’s a remarkable set of principles. It’s something that identifies that we need change, and there is a pathway to change, and we’ve got a new federal government that’s indicated that it wants to act in this area as well. So the stars are aligning for us all.”

Uber’s general manager in Australia, Dominic Taylor, said the new standards would still retain flexibility for drivers and delivery drivers.

“That flexibility is why, we hear from our drivers, they come back time and time again. However, what we are announcing today is how do we work towards a system that allows us to also overlay benefits that are more commonly associated with an employment-like contract, in the form of benefits, guarantees, safety nets,” Taylor said.

Australia’s Labour government has promised ahead of the May election to update the Fair Work Act to account for the rise of the gig economy, including expanding the Fair Work Commission to cover “employee-like” forms of work like gig economy work, allowing it to set minimum standards.

Uber and TWU’s full Statement of Principle can be found here.