Uber prices could increase by 85 per cent if Labor passes a bill which would set minimum pay for gig economy workers, the rideshare company has warned.
The Albanese government’s Closing Loopholes Bill will allow the Fair Work Commission to set minimum pay and conditions for digital platform workers, resulting in a $400 million wage boost for rideshare and food couriers.
But Uber Australia is warning the costs will be passed on to consumers and diminish services in regional areas.
The rideshare company is calling on the Senate to narrow down the bill to rule out penalty rates as a minimum condition for gig workers and limit references to award standards over concerns it could entrench “outdated” comparisons to traditional employment, reported the The Australian Financial Review.
Uber Australia general manager Dom Taylor said the company supported a minimum pay standard, but worried the bill’s broad scope could open the doors to millions of dollars in lost work.
According to modelling by Uber, paying casual award rates, and payment of penalty rates for public, holidays, weekends and night, as well as superannuation, could lead to a lift in prices by 60 per cent for rideshares and 85 per cent for food delivery.
This would result in 40 million hours of lost work due to lower demand, the modelling says.
“There will invariably be people that stop working but there will also be people that will go from 15 hours to 10 hours, from 35 to 25, etc and ultimately this is money that we know Aussies need,” Taylor told the publication.
“We can see that people are signing up en masse over the last six months.
“In spite of having a low unemployment rate, people are signing up to be Uber drivers in order to help with the family budget to make ends meet.”
(9 NEWS)
