<p>Uber has reached a deal with a powerful Australian union after years of legal battles, campaigns and negotiations that will offer 100,000 drivers and food delivery workers more protections.</p>.<p>The Transport Workers Union -- one of Uber's most vocal critics -- reached the agreement with the rideshare giant late Tuesday, with both sides backing minimum standards for all gig economy workers and the right to unionise.</p>.<p>In a joint statement, Uber and the union said they also supported the setting up of an independent body by the Australian government to create standards across the sector.</p>.<p>The "gig economy" -- which uses temporary independent contractors for short-term tasks -- has grown rapidly since Uber's launch in 2009 and is promoted as a flexible way for people to earn money without the constraints of a full-time job. But there has been growing backlash in Australia about the conditions and dangers gig workers face, particularly after a spate of delivery driver deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic when demand spiked.</p>.<p>A 2020 survey by the Transport Workers Union found 73 per cent of food delivery drivers were worried about "being seriously injured or killed at work" -- although safety concerns are not limited to Australia, or Uber.</p>.<p>In the United States, according to the advocacy group Gig Workers Rising, more than 50 drivers working for companies including Uber and Lyft have been killed on the job since 2017.</p>.<p>An Australian court last week ruled slain gig worker Xiaojun Chen, who was killed on the job in 2020 while working for food delivery service Hungry Panda, was an employee, not a contractor. His family was awarded an A$830,000 (US$573,000) compensation payment, believed to be the first of its kind for a gig worker in Australia.</p>.<p>Uber's general manager in Australia, Dom Taylor, conceded that the company and the union "may not seem like obvious allies", but the deal struck between the two would "improve workers' protections".</p>.<p>"We want to see a level playing field for the industry and preserve the flexibility that gig workers value most," he said.</p>.<p>The deal comes in the wake of Australia's May election of a centre-left Labor government that has previously supported reforms to protect gig workers.</p>
<p>Uber has reached a deal with a powerful Australian union after years of legal battles, campaigns and negotiations that will offer 100,000 drivers and food delivery workers more protections.</p>.<p>The Transport Workers Union -- one of Uber's most vocal critics -- reached the agreement with the rideshare giant late Tuesday, with both sides backing minimum standards for all gig economy workers and the right to unionise.</p>.<p>In a joint statement, Uber and the union said they also supported the setting up of an independent body by the Australian government to create standards across the sector.</p>.<p>The "gig economy" -- which uses temporary independent contractors for short-term tasks -- has grown rapidly since Uber's launch in 2009 and is promoted as a flexible way for people to earn money without the constraints of a full-time job. But there has been growing backlash in Australia about the conditions and dangers gig workers face, particularly after a spate of delivery driver deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic when demand spiked.</p>.<p>A 2020 survey by the Transport Workers Union found 73 per cent of food delivery drivers were worried about "being seriously injured or killed at work" -- although safety concerns are not limited to Australia, or Uber.</p>.<p>In the United States, according to the advocacy group Gig Workers Rising, more than 50 drivers working for companies including Uber and Lyft have been killed on the job since 2017.</p>.<p>An Australian court last week ruled slain gig worker Xiaojun Chen, who was killed on the job in 2020 while working for food delivery service Hungry Panda, was an employee, not a contractor. His family was awarded an A$830,000 (US$573,000) compensation payment, believed to be the first of its kind for a gig worker in Australia.</p>.<p>Uber's general manager in Australia, Dom Taylor, conceded that the company and the union "may not seem like obvious allies", but the deal struck between the two would "improve workers' protections".</p>.<p>"We want to see a level playing field for the industry and preserve the flexibility that gig workers value most," he said.</p>.<p>The deal comes in the wake of Australia's May election of a centre-left Labor government that has previously supported reforms to protect gig workers.</p>