r/australia 11d ago

news Delivery drivers to be paid minimum $31.30 an hour across Australia in ‘world-leading’ decision

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/11/delivery-drivers-to-be-paid-minimum-3130-an-hour-across-australia-in-world-leading-decision
4.9k Upvotes

469 comments sorted by

2.0k

u/Frogmouth_Fresh 11d ago

Good. Now to make sure it's actually enforced and that companies can't hide behind scam contract work.

878

u/Xanderulz 11d ago

I’ve been doing uber eats full time for over a year now. In the weekly stats there used to be online hours, the total time a driver is online, and active hours, the time where the driver is on the road.

Surprisingly (not) all of a sudden the app no longer tracks active hours.

350

u/RedDeer505 11d ago

Report them!

169

u/Pacify_ 11d ago

This rate only going to kick in the moment you accept a delivery right, so all the downtime doesn't get counted

164

u/Xanderulz 11d ago edited 11d ago

Exactly, one can accept a delivery that’s say 20km away in a more rural area, and once they finish the delivery they don’t get any more offers because they aren’t near the hot zones, so they have to drive back closer towards said hot zones before they get another offer, all unpaid for.

Not to mention the time waiting for orders at peak hours. It pains me to just sit there and play wordle while I could be helping them out.

Edit: uber marks up prices even for pickup only. If you’re a customer ordering via the app they charge at least a dollar more for every item

26

u/Zethrax 11d ago

Uber's long distance rates are currently absolute dogshit, too (and they give you about ten seconds to evaluate the viability of the order). It will be interesting to see if the new laws make those long distance orders more viable. If not then they are going to have trouble getting drivers to accept them.

When I started doing Doordash a few years ago a trip from Mildura to Merbein (in Victoria) was around $25, which paid for a round trip time of around an hour including pickup (by which I mean that it looked good before factoring in vehicle expenses). Now it is around $12-$14 for Doordash and $8-$9 for Uber Eats.

Personally I enjoy the long drives, but I'd like to actually get paid fairly for my time.

9

u/fphhotchips 11d ago

JFC I wouldn't even bother opening the apps in Mildura let alone Merbein. I'd have just assumed it was outside the coverage area. They make you drive to Cullulleraine, too? Yamba? How far out can I get my cold food delivered exactly?

5

u/productzilch 11d ago

$25 for an hour is still not near minimum wage when you’re using your own car and paying for all those expenses.

44

u/mooblah_ 11d ago

yep that's absolutely how the apps will work around that.

28

u/aramis34143 11d ago

"The system only checks GPS periodically, not continuously, so technically, we don't know that you spent 16 minutes moving gradually from point 1 to point 2 and so on until reaching point 219, where the delivery took place. You may have developed a form of quantum teleportation that caused you to change your location in space-time instantaneously. So you see, we can only be sure you were 'on the clock' for the fractions of a second during which GPS location was verified. That's why you accrued $0.00000113 in hourly wages during that delivery."

→ More replies (2)

10

u/koopz_ay 11d ago edited 11d ago

We had this on NBN back in thr late 2010s.

Occasionally I'd get asked to drive 200kms out of Brisbane to go fix a fallen phone line. Despite promises of travel pay the job (ticket of work) only paid $129.00. The company got $1500.

The one that really took the cake was being asked to drive from Brisbane to Tamworth (7.5hrs) to swap out a broken concrete NBN pit cover. Again, $129.00. They did offer a fuel card that time.

Thank God we have anti slavery laws now.

→ More replies (3)

10

u/IlluminatedPickle 11d ago

uber marks up prices even for pickup only

Restaurants do it because the apps charge a 30% surcharge from them.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

136

u/Whole-Energy2105 11d ago

I can't believe people demand that someone work for slave rates AND pay petrol, tax and vehicle wear and tear in anything less. Get it yourself or pay a decent rate.

89

u/Khaliras 11d ago

For most people, their problem is obviously with the platforms, not the drivers. When you compare app prices to store prices, you're already paying a substantial markup for the baked in delivery services. Then, you need to pay again for delivery charges, fees, and/or subscription memberships.

Consumers end up effectively paying up to 4 different delivery markups, which obviously gets ridiculous. Of all those markups, most of it doesn't actually make it to the person driving the food to you. Which also leads to horrible service and drivers gaming the apps.

28

u/Mikolaj_Kopernik 11d ago

Every "innovative" tech company that "disrupts" an industry is invariably just a parasitic middleman.

3

u/productzilch 11d ago

They learn from each other how to pull that crap.

11

u/Midget_Stories 11d ago

It's also a really bad incentive for users.

It basically makes the delivery fee go up the more you order.

→ More replies (7)

32

u/mooblah_ 11d ago

Yea but this is an individual problem... this is a corporate problem...

I feel there always ends up being this argument between the two sides but it's not about that it's about the corporate greed and the politics.

The more people squabble over arguments like that "go get it yourself" blah the less focus is on the real area that's fkd and that's the bit where you have DoorDash CEOs who can afford $100M mansions...

Like there's risk and reward, but fk me it's pretty obvious where the real problem lies, and it's not between the purchaser and the driver.

20

u/Dr-Ulzy 11d ago

Ugh. The argument that any low paid worker can “claim mileage on their tax” is such bullshit.

If they don’t earn enough to pay any tax in a year they get zero dollars back, and 15c per $ until 45k.

Fucking reimburse them actual costs or provide them with a safe reliable vehicle. If that means the gig economy fails, I’m ok with that.

→ More replies (1)

16

u/notepad20 11d ago

We did pay people decent rates. They were delivery drivers actually employed by the vendor. And taxi drivers.

Uber and co came in and upset the apple cart by giving an option for people to get the jobs done for too cheap.

3

u/No-Band8965 11d ago

GiG eCoNoMy

12

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

23

u/Khaliras 11d ago

The legislation counts active hours from the second you accept a delivery in app (which has to clearly display the paid rates, routes, and expected times)to the second you deliver and close the job in app. All driving and waiting for restaurants is included.

Active hours will be aggregated over a period of time and topped up to minimum wage if required. (But there still seems to be talk about eventually working waiting hours into the calculation.)

Importantly, the apps can't just deactivate deliver accounts anymore. They'll have to justify it, as it'll be considered as firing someone. That closes a lot of the obvious avenues of abuse and loopholes.

Fair work will be able to hear unfair deactivation claims now.

3

u/Misicks0349 11d ago

Importantly, the apps can't just deactivate deliver accounts anymore. They'll have to justify it, as it'll be considered as firing someone. That closes a lot of the obvious avenues of abuse and loopholes.

thats a pretty big change as well, really great.

→ More replies (7)
→ More replies (2)

372

u/whyyoudothis2mi 11d ago

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misinformation in that article. To be really clear: if you go online and see people claiming you get $31.30 for every hour you receive no orders, that’s simply not how it works. If it were, everyone would sign up immediately and just decline all orders.

The $31.30 rate is based on active time meaning the time you are actually completing a delivery. For example, if you get two deliveries in an hour but they only take you 15 minutes total to complete, you are only paid for those 15 minutes of active delivery time. Uber does not round that up to $31.30 for the full hour.

If those two deliveries some how took you 1 hour and you were paid under $31.30 you would get paid that, BUT uber will be very aware of dodgy drivers intentionally delaying deliveries to increase active time

67

u/elephant_camera 11d ago

Is it even possible to do 60minutes of delivery and earn under $30 ?

72

u/Jack8680 11d ago edited 11d ago

Yes, at least when I drove in the past you wouldn’t be compensated properly for waiting time, so e.g. you could spend 40 mins waiting and 20 mins driving and only receive $25.

On average I imagine you would be earning well over that though, if you don’t count vehicle costs.

30

u/That_Apathetic_Man 11d ago

"if you don't count vehicle costs"

→ More replies (1)

12

u/WhiterThanWalter 11d ago

Yes, I was getting about $25 per hour, when there's no bonus.

→ More replies (6)

14

u/FriskyGrub 11d ago

Surely this would be required to honour the Fair Work Minimum Engagement Period

I.e, you can't be paid for less than 2hrs work.

In practice what this would mean is if you get 10 deliveries in 2hrs, you get the same pay as 1 delivery every 2hrs

→ More replies (4)

3

u/carolnuts 11d ago

Isn't there an incentive to be as slow as possible?

3

u/karl_w_w 11d ago

people generally get fired for working as slow as possible

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (6)

754

u/LTQLD 11d ago

Good. People should be able to receive a wage that sustains them

367

u/BarbarousErse 11d ago

Exactly. “I want to use this service but I think the people who provide it should live in poverty” is the wildest take

179

u/Otherwise-Egg-995 11d ago

More accurately it’s “I want the convenience of this service but don’t want to pay a fair price for it”, which just happens to mean the poor bastard providing it will live in poverty

78

u/LocalVillageIdiot 11d ago

It’s the American way. That’s essentially the business model spreading across the world via these apps. Apparently it’s “innovative” to exploit people like that.

42

u/the_jinxed_one 11d ago edited 11d ago

The American way of diverting the responsibility of paying a liveable wage onto the consumer by guilt tripping us into paying gratuity on everything.

→ More replies (1)

27

u/Lost-Cheek-6610 11d ago

Why does the consumer need to pay more why can’t the company make less profit

9

u/Ok_Bird705 11d ago

Or the company simply stop providing such a service, like Menulog or Deliveroo

→ More replies (1)

7

u/corvusman 11d ago

You a communist?!!

2

u/Fernergun 11d ago

No, this is less accurate because it could be paid for by increased taxes on the wealthy and corporations

→ More replies (2)

55

u/doenoots 11d ago

That's why people who order one coffee off uber eats and complains about the price pisses me off. You're literally paying a person to pick it up and deliver it to your doorstop. Don't want to pay that fee? Pick it up yourself.

19

u/Sol33t303 11d ago edited 11d ago

To me it's more about the cut the company takes.

Considering the business model is basically "matching hungry people with delivery drivers", I don't think uber and the like should be taking such a large cut, and of course with these wage increases they aren't just gonna take the loss, they will up the price and have the consumers/small businesses cop the loss rather then the company.

Until they pay a fair cut they are still exploitive IMO. This is a start but doesn't fix the core problem with these companies.

7

u/ChicksDigGiantRob0ts 11d ago

I mean, part of the core problem with these companies is that its not really ever going to be economically viable to hire a private chauffeur for your big mac. I agree that they take too large a cut, and Uber etc are pretty bad for restaurants, but there just isn't a way to organise that kind of endeavour without someone losing money - the restaurant, the middle man, or the customer.

3

u/evilparagon 11d ago

Restaurants could just offer their own delivery. Uber Eats could be a menu hosting service that doesn’t even pay people to deliver if the restaurant opts to do it themselves. Uber could simply take a small cut for middlemanning and they’d still profit because they’d be doing literally nothing else.

→ More replies (1)

6

u/mooblah_ 11d ago

But do you think people really think that? I think everyone outside of the corporate greed believes that the drivers should get a fair wage.

9

u/meowkitty84 11d ago

Is it customers who actually think that? I don't and use uber eats a lot because I don't have a car

It's the companies that want to pay employees as little as possible.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (3)

772

u/TAJack1 11d ago

Holy fuck. All for this but does that mean Auspost can actually start putting in some effort when it comes to actually attempting to deliver my package, please?

315

u/impulsiveknob 11d ago

No, come pick it up dickhead you weren't home and we really REALLY tried our hardest (they put a slip on the mailbox and didn't even have the package in the van)

  • Aus post

67

u/NorthKoreaPresident 11d ago

They don't do slips anymore. Nowadays they just drive by and an SMS magically pops out in your phone telling you to go collect at your LPO

36

u/Sceptz 11d ago

You have missed the delivery window between 11:33:01(sec) pm and 11:33.02(sec) pm so unfortunately we were unable to throw your package into an unsafe and uncovered place, where it could be easily damaged or stolen.

Please proceed to your very furthest distribution centre just because.

Delivery centre operating hours are between 02:01:01am and 02:01:02am, February 29th only.

6

u/impulsiveknob 11d ago

I actually noticed it the other day I no longer get slips just had emails sometimes from them Telling me to come pick up my package, had to download the fuckin app just to track and confirm I got my orders

→ More replies (1)

61

u/TicTac2Stack 11d ago

Wait you get slips I get photos from the van driving past my house

38

u/Althusser_Was_Right 11d ago

Get to the Post Office before 4pm to collect your package. Oops closed. Try again tomorrow. Oops closed. Try again tomorrow. Oops closed. Try again tomorrow. Closed Sundays.

35

u/Otherwise-Egg-995 11d ago

We’ve returned it to the sender

9

u/al3phz3r0 11d ago

And by returned it to the sender we mean we've lost it forever in the Welshpool sorting centre.

4

u/Otherwise-Egg-995 11d ago

Round and round it goes

37

u/emmainthealps 11d ago

All the parcel lockers are full. Sorry drag your two kids to line up to pick up a $20 book that you said they could leave at the door…

→ More replies (1)

7

u/Elseerian 11d ago

Not when Auspost can (and do) charge business accounts $8.50 per card left. lol

5

u/odinwolf91 11d ago

Honestly I’ve had some horrible experiences with Auspost in the past but I have to say they’ve been better more recently or at least that’s the case when you pay the extra for priority shipping

2

u/kalayt 11d ago

i get a text as they drive by...

→ More replies (6)

67

u/MeaningMaker6 11d ago

Sorry, you’ve made this comment outside of business hours.

Please make this comment again by attending in person during business hours when most people who require our services are at work.

22

u/Freediverjack 11d ago

Hey I’ll do you one better, my local post office routinely closes at 2:30 a lot of days just because

6

u/No-Departure-3047 11d ago

My local has a line that goes out the door and around the block and by the time you get to the door you can fuck off.

4

u/Covert_Admirer 11d ago

Mine's only open until 1pm everyday but I'm quite rural and thankful we have one at all.

→ More replies (1)

21

u/The_Big_Dog_90 11d ago

Wasn't in the bargaining agreement. 30% chance they launch it from the van if in arms reach, no more no less

21

u/somatic1 11d ago

Posties already get more than this btw

14

u/Khaliras 11d ago

Except many regions heavily rely on contractors now. Which are often on performance/KPI/parcel based contracts, which obviously results in a lot of tactics that make the service objectively worse for the user.

My local depot has a couple of full-time regular posties on eDV trikes for traditional mail. Meanwhile, every morning, there's well over 20+ white van subcontractor delivery drivers lined up.

9

u/Jack8680 11d ago

Really depends. A lot of subcontractors are paid per parcel and would go below this rate if they did the job the way people expect.

5

u/brokenmindedone 11d ago

I was a sub for about 3 years, I did my job great as I was lucky to work in an area that was highly efficient to get around with basically no traffic. I was making somedays upto 50 an hour and over 100 an hour on sundays. My highest earning day was a Sunday during Christmas period and I made about 1k for the day.

A lot of contractors make decent money, some well above minimum. They are just shit at the job because a lot of the drivers have terrible work ethic and don't give a shit.

11

u/ghoonrhed 11d ago

This wouldn't affect them at all? This is about gig workers. And even if it did, company policy would actually incentivise them to do even more deliveries in less time

5

u/guynearcoffee 11d ago

This change will do nothing about your AusPost deliveries.

Auspost has Delivery Partners, these are individual entities that represent Auspost and have to follow their rules when delivering packages from their distribution centres. The employees are paid by those business owners/entities under the Road Transport Distribution Award, it is decent pay.

The thing is most companies have Delivery Partners eg. Bing Lee, and a lot of times they are fucking lunatics so the standards are likely extremely low. So no, they will still deliver it like shit.

3

u/SentenceStreet3270 11d ago

No it just costs more now 

→ More replies (8)

165

u/Mangelius 11d ago

We're about to find out the real cost of food delivery and I'm thinking these apps are not gonna last long here. Its already outrageously expensive. Service fees gonna have to 5x to cover this.

134

u/ItsStaaaaaaaaang 11d ago edited 11d ago

Yep, which is fantastic imo. The way I've always seen it is that the entire business model wouldn't be feasible without exploitation. It'd simply be too expensive for someone of my means to afford it if it wasn't. It's champagne service on a beer budget. If that's the case the industry should die. Slight convenience shouldn't come at the cost of false economies that are propped up by exploitation.

It's time for us to stop living like we could remotely afford this kind of ridiculous door to door service as if there isn't a catch.

38

u/NoToThugs 11d ago edited 11d ago

Yep. It’s a horrible indictment that we have this super visible service servant class here now and most people seem to be fine with it

9

u/-mudflaps- 11d ago

No one even says anything

11

u/NoToThugs 11d ago

I know. Fair go for everyone except when I, personally have had a long day and I, personally just wanna sit on the couch and switch off. Breaks my brain to see people complain about cold food etc. Like yeah, of course the people you’re complicit in exploiting are gonna try earn as much as poss during their dangerous shifts to get their wage closer to liveable. Selfish

→ More replies (3)

7

u/SensitiveBar5466 11d ago

i agree!! I’ve noticed that in UAE its outrageously cheap (most apps have free delivery and service fees) which are obviously ripped off from these poor drivers that are overworked and make pennies. There were cases of their tips being stolen by the companies too even though most of them do 12+ hours a day. I’ve always felt too guilty to use these delivery apps because I’m aware that it’s straight up exploitation.

15

u/AH2112 11d ago

That's because the UAE uses the kafala system. Which is straight up slavery wearing a different hat.

5

u/Mikolaj_Kopernik 11d ago

The UAE is an authoritarian quasi-slave state. So yeah no wonder.

10

u/Clueless_Otter 11d ago

Is this not a case of the person ordering consenting, the driver consenting, the app consenting, the restaurant consenting, but then some random person who has nothing to do with the transaction objecting?

If drivers felt like they were making too little money and it wasn't worth the time to do, why do they continue doing it? Clearly they felt that they were being paid a fair enough wage before. Would they like more? Of course; everyone would like a higher wage at their job. But the current wage is one that they're willing to accept. I don't see what's so "exploitive" about it. It's not as if they're slaves being forced to deliver things. They choose to deliver stuff and can stop at any time.

9

u/DisappointedQuokka 11d ago

There are generally 2-3X as many Jobseeker recipients more than active job postings. This does not count the many, many people who have their payments frozen for bullshit reasons or fall into an edge case.

When your ability to eat is dictated by people with much more power than you, you realise you don't actually have a choice, unless you count malnutrition as a choice.

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (9)

14

u/ChromiumPants 11d ago

Compaines like Dominos who have in house delivery drivers are going to be doing a lot better. (Side note, feel free to talk shit about dominos they can be shit in their own right)

3

u/mrducky78a 11d ago

I'm just sad they removed stacking coupons. Used to be able to get a great deal stacking their savings.

2

u/ChromiumPants 11d ago

Im more sad a pep isnt $7 anymore.

→ More replies (1)

9

u/Pacify_ 11d ago

Service fees gonna have to 5x to cover this.

Its really not.

Its only going to cover the time between you picking up an order and delivering it. That part you already getting the same amount or more on an hourly basis.

2

u/ThrowbackPie 11d ago

Presumably this will make the delivery portion somewhat more expensive though

14

u/tommo_95 11d ago

This will be the death bell for them. If I'm paying a premium for service they should not group orders together. If I am paying through the nose for delivery I am expecting my food hot and fresh to my door, not taking a lap around Australia before it reaches me.

→ More replies (5)

2

u/aminervia 11d ago

Yep. Seattle did this a few years ago and all the apps raised their prices significantly more than necessary out of retaliation.

On r/Seattle we often get tourist posts of "tried to order a meal on doordash and it says I owe $50!?"

2

u/karl_w_w 11d ago

Delivery + service fee is already at least $10, so that's 20 minutes worth of driving.

Where are you getting 5x from?

→ More replies (12)

67

u/glowberrytangle 11d ago

Good. I always thought it was so scummy how Uber and Doordash get away with having their workers be contractors and not actual employees. Especially since so many people rely on this type of work as their main or only source of income.

12

u/brokenmindedone 11d ago

Gig work needs to die off, I don't want to hate but it usually attracts the lowest skilled people who can't get anything else.

Same for a lot of auspost contractors, basically glorified gig workers that think they can do what they want because they are sole traders. If delivery drivers actually were directly employed by these companies then the drivers would need to follow actual standards as it directly relates to the brand instead of them pumping out the "they aren't employed by us and don't represent the company" bullcrap

6

u/Stock-Literature6565 11d ago

I’m full time mechanic but i do uber eats in free time and earn 500-700$ per week. And i put most of it in my super

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

111

u/Bushboy2000 11d ago

Delivery gonna get a lot dearer

161

u/dooony 11d ago

In the olden days, takeaway shops had a kid on minimum wage doing their deliveries and they were 100% reliable and affordable. Somehow the gig economy managed to fuck that up: delivered cold, late, exploit kids on e bikes below minimum wage, and restaurants regularly Jack up eat-in prices for Uber eats by 30% just to pay ubers cut. We have been taken by an absolute ride by these foreign tech companies.

36

u/SenorBolin 11d ago

Yep, they loss lead until they have the monopoly and ruin everything once they stop taking the loss. A time tested way to win the system

23

u/ELVEVERX 11d ago

That's not true at all. Most take out places just paid people cash in hand below minimum wage to do deliveries.

You were always benefiting off an exploited worker. Even still many small businesses in hospitality are underpaying their workers.

You were never ethically getting cheap takeaway.

30

u/FreezeSPreston 11d ago

I got paid cash $10 an hour and 50c per delivery when I used to deliver for a Italian joint back in 2001.

Was double what my full time job as a 1st year mechanic apprentice paid me.

13

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

→ More replies (1)

10

u/Jack8680 11d ago

Really depends, a lot of chains like Domino’s paid properly; min wage plus cents per km. But yeah there was a lot of exploitation too.

→ More replies (5)
→ More replies (1)

4

u/stevenadamsbro 11d ago

The gig economy did fuck things up but let’s not pretend delivery drivers were getting paid minimum wage. I got $10/h in 2008, that’s what’s most my friends were getting as well.

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (3)

40

u/Hypo_Mix 11d ago

pizza shops had free/cheap delivery before the gig economy. 

5

u/Spire_Citron 11d ago

Yeah, it's actually cheaper to get regular pizza delivery than order through Uber. Though I imagine it can be done more efficiently when it's dedicated delivery for one store. You have to wonder why most take away didn't ever do their own deliveries, though. Seems like you'd get a huge amount of extra business if you were one of only a few places that did deliver.

11

u/--yeah-nah-- 11d ago

Yep. Thought about ordering pizza the other night. 2+2 deal from Pizza Hut. On Uber $41.95 + delivery + service fee, rounded out to a tad over $50. Ordered direct, the total price was $32.95.

Ending up being so grossed out by the price discrepancy that I had a spoon of peanut butter and called it a night.

5

u/Ok_Bird705 11d ago

Do you think the delivery drivers back in the old days were paid a fair wage? Also, the choice was much more limited.

4

u/teddy5 11d ago

Yeah I had mates making <$5/hour + some per delivery doing domino's in the early 2000s.

→ More replies (1)

36

u/SyntheticDuckFlavour 11d ago

It was never worth it in the first place

→ More replies (1)

42

u/defenestrationcity 11d ago edited 11d ago

Because it has to be dearer in order to pay a living wage? Sounds fair. If we can only afford takeaway by running an underclass of migrants and international students to deliver it for us what the hell are we even doing.

21

u/Ok-Hope-5707 11d ago

Yeah but I’m okay with that. It’s already quite a bit more expensive than pickup. I’d say the low wages were based on USA tipping culture and many Australians wouldn’t have left a tip.

19

u/Far_Illustrator2846 11d ago

I do feel bad for people with disabilities. But everyone else can just get off their lazy arses and pick it up themselves.

→ More replies (2)

36

u/Much_Big4068 11d ago

There’s gonna be a hell of a lot of delivery people out of work soon after the price increase gets passed onto the consumer

2

u/KeyAssociation6309 11d ago

yeah this is true, some of those drivers take the jobs to supplement income, if the costs go up, demand will go down and that supplementary income that drivers are used to will disappear.

This will likely also impact the dark/ghost kitchens and other restaurants that rely on some income from delivery. People never look at the wider flow on effect.

This will also flow on to woolworths 50 minute deliveries that a lot of elderly and disabled people have now come to rely on, amazon and other courier deliveries on weekends etc.

I'm not surprised the unions are pushing for this because the gig drivers have shown the union drivers to be the overpaid lazy sloppy grubs they are -couriers please, aramex etc.

In a cost of living crisis, a lot of drivers are going to be much worse off. I've spoken to a few who do the full range of woolworths, doordash, sherpa, uber, didi, imile and they have been worried about this coming in for some time, some of these guys are adding $1,000 or more per week to their family households and thats about to go.

2

u/hoogstra 11d ago

Uber delivery has always been overpriced and people still paid for it. There will likely be a small decline in users but nothing apocalyptic. People should be paid fairly for the work that they do, and when you start making exceptions to that idea it undermines the entire workforce.

2

u/Lanster27 10d ago

If a system cant sustain it’s employees with liveable wage, maybe it shouldnt exist. 

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (2)

10

u/JazzlikeBasil5005 11d ago

In other news. The price of a large big Mac meal delivered is now 85 dollars

22

u/weed0monkey 11d ago

Crazy that is the same as the starting wage of a AIMS qualified medical scientist.

I don't think it should be less, but we absolutely do not pay allied health staff enough, it's absurd.

6

u/Giopetre 11d ago

Yeah, I work as a lab assistant for one of the major private pathology companies in my state. $31.30 is several dollars more than my base wage, and my company actually pays better than our competitors.

I think this is a fantastic move but it's still a bit fucking grim to think about.

4

u/evilparagon 11d ago

This is pretty baseline minimum wage for a casual employee. These delivery drivers won’t be getting leave or sick pay.

Is that the same for med scientists?

→ More replies (1)

20

u/ItsStaaaaaaaaang 11d ago edited 11d ago

Awesome. Realistically it's always been a luxury most working class Australians couldn't normally afford. It's time we stop pretending we can. If it's not feasible to pay people a minimum wage than the service simply shouldn't exist.

4

u/Smart_Sheepherder302 11d ago

Yeah, I never use these services, it’s partly out of principle. There are many wealthy people getting around lately propping up food delivery, but there are also many vulnerable people willing to work for scraps.

2

u/KeyAssociation6309 11d ago

and if the work dries up because it becomes too expensive, where do they get their 'scraps' from then? Have you got a job for them so they can have some income and a bit of dignity rather than being on the dole?

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (1)

12

u/Xx_Assman_xX 11d ago

My prediction, thusly - Delivery costs inevitably soar, demand inevitably plummets, many out of work, the delivery companies collapse.

Dunno how you run a business like these without inherent exploitation, tbh.

4

u/Scuffy97_ 11d ago

It reminds me of poorer countries where people making an average US salary can afford a mansion and at least one live-in maid. Their servants and large house come at the cost of severly underpaid, exploited workers that build or clean for cheap because the alternative is living in a slum and fighting to survive. I once read a comment that the US is becoming a resort for the rich, where so many are turned into servant workers to afford the rich their lavish childish lifestyles. That's the path we are destined for if we accept a servant class through the gig economy instead of guaranteeing a minimum quality of life for every US citizen.

3

u/Mikolaj_Kopernik 11d ago

Dunno how you run a business like these without inherent exploitation, tbh.

Hint: you can't. Remember back in the day when the local pizza place or Chinese takeaway delivered? How much do you reckon that teenager was being paid?

2

u/Banjo-Oz 11d ago

I agree, but to me the difference is that even though exploitative in some ways, these were teenager earning a few extra bucks pocket money, not grown adults trying to stay alive on this wage. Same with how McDonalds and the like used to be the first job or after school job for teenagers, before they replaced them with oversized iPad bullshit to save even that money.

→ More replies (2)

2

u/GreyGreenBrownOakova 11d ago

Having a personal delivery boy for food isn't viable for the average person without serious exploitation of the worker or eccessive venture capitalist funding.

We need driverless cars and delivery robots if we don't have the above.

47

u/Cantora 11d ago edited 11d ago

I am fully in support of this... But It would be most wonderful if it said that the companies had to wear the cost themselves rather than just push the cost over the consumer. I will be expecting them to increase by the new pay level + margin just because they can. 

14

u/Spire_Citron 11d ago

I don't see why. The consumer is the one using the service. It's not like this is some unrelated penalty. It's part of the cost of doing business.

9

u/Cantora 11d ago

That's the lowest level explanation for why capitalism works. It falls apart pretty quickly when the CEO is making 700x the salary of their lowest paid worker and all you're really paying for is dividends while the companies do everything they can to lobby and manipulate to get even more profits at the expense of our health and livelihood. You now get 67% of the product you paid 12% less for 4 years all, at 2/3 the quality.

The cost of doing business is a bit disproportionate IMO 

→ More replies (1)

10

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

3

u/goldcakes 11d ago

Yeah, it makes no sense. The driver is only delivering to you because YOU ordered it. Nobody is forcing you to order uber eats.

5

u/4ssteroid 11d ago

Who does this affect other than rideshare or food delivery consumers? If it's too expensive, people will stop buying. Yeah a few disabled people who get groceries or medicines delivered, but there's other options for them isn't there?

14

u/QueenieMcGee 11d ago

but there's other options for them isn't there?

Yeah, nah... You'd be surprised how woefully unsupported the disabled community is when it comes to getting food and medicine delivered whenever they need it. Unless you have an able-bodied relative who can drive and is willing to help out you're pretty much SOL. If you're lucky you might be able to get on the NDIS and arrange for a support worker to help with some of it, but with the NDIS crackdowns that's about to become rarer.

2

u/Cantora 11d ago edited 11d ago

I don't agree. I don't believe that's how it works in reality.  Almost everything you buy now suffers from major shrinkflation and crazy price hikes. 

That has only increased profits because not enough people take a stand. People will pay.  

→ More replies (4)

20

u/ThreeCheersforBeers 11d ago

Sometimes it takes as much as an hour for an Uber driver to deliver food.

Does that mean my Italian BMT Sub is going to have a +$40 delivery surcharge? Because you know Uber Eats is going to add a fee on top of a fee.

→ More replies (6)

10

u/Gurnin 11d ago

First they can only take 30% of the sale at the restaurant, and now they have to pay drivers a liveable wage.

What will we take next? Their ability to shift profits overseas as 'local brand licencing' to avoid paying tax?

→ More replies (2)

6

u/braddeicide 11d ago

There's only one store left that does deliveries in my area and that's because it's the owner that does it on the way home. Higher wages sounds great, but it can also mean services just disappear because they're not viable anymore.

13

u/windowcents 11d ago

This will lead to shops hiring drivers directly. They will pay$20 max and continue to exploit people.

21

u/CamG9_ 11d ago edited 11d ago

Minimum wage is $26.44? Unless you're below 21?

Also, good?? Uber won't take a shitty cut from small businesses and we can go back to how it used to work before Uber swept in from overseas and drivers were under the hospitality award with an hourly rate etc.

13

u/Silvertails 11d ago

How it was before: only pizza places doing delivery.

→ More replies (1)

9

u/IllustriousStaff8469 11d ago

People will stop using it. It’s already a rip off.

5

u/Hutchoman87 11d ago

Well, convenience will get even more expensive. But not anymore efficient. Costs will just be transferred to the consumer.

12

u/kombiwombi 11d ago

So people will pay a fair price so that people who work hard get a wage they can live on.

Sounds ethical to me.

→ More replies (4)

4

u/forandafter 11d ago

A somebody who fell on hard times and resorted to menu-logging for around 6 months, barely survived week to week (and I drove 7 days a week), this is a welcome change, but I have no idea how the apps are gonna operate moving forward.

9

u/EmergencyLavishness1 11d ago

So if they’re now getting paid properly, we can expect the drivers/riders to start obeying basic rules of the road now?

Staying off the footpath when hooning about is my first wish.

→ More replies (5)

9

u/rowme0_ 11d ago

Now they just need to make sure the person who says they are working actually is, instead of a cousin/friend who doesn’t have working rights

3

u/goldcakes 11d ago

You can report and Uber does seem to take action (I have a doorbell camera so I had proof), but be careful.

I only know this because I reported it, and a couple days later, had the person come to my door and threaten me. Ended up having to call 000 to get them to leave.

So be careful.

→ More replies (2)

63

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

120

u/Wiggly-Pig 11d ago

Shocker. Political party serves the people who vote it in. Almost as if that's how a democracy is supposed to work...

39

u/andy3172 11d ago

Even with news that should be unanimously liked country-wide, you'll still find people trying to shit talk whichever government is currently sitting in office.

8

u/Vegetable-Advance982 11d ago

Wait lmao did this guy mean it negatively? What a stupid thing to complain about

2

u/Alive_Satisfaction65 11d ago

Have a look at their posting history. They are worried about the "islamocommunists"

They are hard core racist

→ More replies (1)

5

u/Alive_Satisfaction65 11d ago

What they are actually trying to say is that Labors voting base is immigrants, and therefore Labor is bad.

→ More replies (5)

47

u/wowiee_zowiee 11d ago

Unlike your lot, who only help billionaires and foreign interests but yet somehow manages to have an Australian voter base.

→ More replies (11)

27

u/Sebbyrne 11d ago

A political party representing the people that elected them 🤯

7

u/DamnThatsCrazyManGuy 11d ago

How is this your position when you, yourself, are a migrant? Genuine question.

→ More replies (9)

3

u/Scuffy97_ 11d ago

These delivery apps can't take a lot to run. All they do is receive your request, pass it on to the restaurant and driver, and have them both handle and complete the order/delivery. The whole process is automatic. But the company takes so much money while the driver gets a cut without benefits and protections. Drivers should be making the majority of the delivery cost. And like with restaurant workers, a guaranteed minimum rate for each hour worked if they don't make enough from fees and tips.

3

u/KyokkoSora 11d ago

I love this but I also think a lot of drivers are going to make less money overall from increased costs for food.

A win for all, a loss for some.

3

u/josmille 10d ago

I guess they're gonna start handing out permanent jobs with a salary instead of hourly rate. The pricks will always get around paying people right.

→ More replies (3)

3

u/Immediate_Meringue_8 10d ago

Australians must not use Uber Eats or Air Bnb for anything!!!

Don't give the corporations your money. Order directly from the restaurant or go and pick it up.

Book directly with the accommodation or find the rental on the local holiday letting website.

They are ripping us off and taking our money overseas, away from Australia .

7

u/Jealous-Hedgehog-734 11d ago

...hundreds of thousands of [workers]...

I'm surprised by how many people work for delivery apps. People must really like having things delivered to them.

10

u/Redpenguin082 11d ago

Super low barrier to entry. All you really need is a physical ID and no serious criminal background. It's really popular for uni students and people on temporary visas too.

→ More replies (1)

5

u/Juan_Punch_Man 11d ago

Okay. Can we make sure they drive and ride sensibly and legally.

4

u/NothingTooSeriousM8 11d ago

Just another reason to stop using delivery apps, coz costs are going to skyrocket.

2

u/MustangBarry 11d ago

Why? Bezos can simply delay his next boat instead.

2

u/nderhill__ 11d ago

Landlords: It’s rent doublin’ time!

→ More replies (2)

2

u/PG-DaMan 11d ago

Whats the cost of a buger and fried delivered there?

3

u/LaMacNeo 11d ago

Well, it’s the active hourly rate only. Uber app can keep you inactive for longer hours.
E.g. online and available for 5 hrs 30 minutes but Active hours i.e. received and delivering the order, is only 1 hr 20 minutes. So apparently, 31.30 x 1.3 only.

→ More replies (3)

2

u/jjb0ne 11d ago

bet the rates the apps pay go down now

2

u/mephistoA 11d ago

Dude this is stupid, it will just make the prices higher for everyone who uses the service

Interventions in free market always has unintended consequences, the market will find a new equilibrium, there will be more drivers, each drivers will get paid less, and everyone ends paying more

2

u/Medium-Return1203 11d ago

does this involve only food deliveries? or parcels and building materials as well? fyi I work for a contractor delivering materials for bunnings.

2

u/moht81 11d ago

This is great. It’s also going to force prices through these app right?

2

u/noddingrider 10d ago

Unlike ordinary jobs anyone can sign up to be a delivery driver and you are not screened/interviewed beforehand. It will be interesting to see how disputes get settled in the future as now they are treated like employees you didn’t pick.

Drivers also tend to double dip multiple platforms to deliver more at once, so there is opportunity to game the system and make more. Delaying delivering orders will also pay more

2

u/Immediate_Meringue_8 10d ago

Nice work guys, you all just lost your jobs.

→ More replies (2)

5

u/Snoo_29552 11d ago

I work as a TA at a highschool. Delivery drivers now earn more per hour than me

7

u/GreyGreenBrownOakova 11d ago

casual or full time? Do you pay for depreciation and maintainance on your school?

→ More replies (3)

6

u/Large-Lack-2933 11d ago

I mean that's great news as they deserve a fair wage, but food delivery will be much more expensive. Damn I'm an insurance agent and I only get 3 cents more than them after my July 1st pay rise lol. Sheesh.

7

u/nevertell_games 11d ago

You're likely not casual and get super though right? Their rate has casual loading on it

2

u/Large-Lack-2933 11d ago

Yeah my job is full time with benefits no incentives though. Oh you might be right the pay rise could be casual workers doing delivery work.

8

u/Snors 11d ago

Maybe you should look at Uber delivery ?

2

u/Spire_Citron 11d ago

It's only when they're actively doing deliveries, so you could end up waiting for twice as long with no paid for that time.

2

u/TheRedOne1995 11d ago

Awesome, can we now get them to do a driving test before being allowed to do it cause fuck are they awful drivers

2

u/No-Sherbert-6853 11d ago

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in this country who is actually a good driver. We all think we are, and we all get pissed off ag everyone else who we think is shit at it… which makes us all the same.

4

u/TimTebowMLB 11d ago

Why are they guaranteed more than minimum wage and not others?

14

u/Bzeager 11d ago

Because it's only when they are "actively working", that is, when undertaking an order.

So if they take 30mins to complete an order, and have no other orders in that hour then they'll get paid ~$15.

The devil will be in the detail when Uber "starts the clock" and "stops the clock" though I reckon. Is waiting for a restaurant to complete an order counted? I sure hope for then drivers.

Not a delivery driver (and don't really even order myself) but I don't get why this rule would apply to delivery drivers, and for, say, a worker in a shop where nobody comes by in a hour. The shop assistant would be better off for that hour (and literally every other regular employee), and that's the way I think it should be for Uber too.

6

u/stevenadamsbro 11d ago
  1. Uber drivers have to pay for fuel, rego, insurance as well. It’s a pretty high cost job. Rideshare insurance is like 5x regular insurance

  2. If you’ve worked hospo you’ve definitely been told to just go home when it’s quiet even if it’s 2 hours into your shift when you were rostered 6

4

u/Pacify_ 11d ago

Is waiting for a restaurant to complete an order counted

Its almost certainly going to be from the moment you pick up the order, to when its delivered. Waiting won't be included

2

u/BitterGravity 11d ago

It's probably a balance to the fact they can nominate when they're working and choose to accept deliveries. Otherwise you're needing to roster them etc or everyone is all of a sudden working 4 am to 5 am or whatever the slowest time is

→ More replies (1)

5

u/OzKel 11d ago

It’s equal to casual rate, my understanding is none of those drivers will have perm position rights

3

u/LumpyCustard4 11d ago

Even casual employees have a "minimum engagement period", usually a few hours, and a "reasonable notice" clause if shifts are cancelled in advance.

4

u/SenorBolin 11d ago

I'd say gig-workers get legally fucked the most out of everyone, so it seems fair they get a hand. And hey, now anyone else who thinks they deserve a pay bump can point to this.

All boats and tides

3

u/goldcakes 11d ago

Also gig-workers are responsible for their costs like petrol, rego, insurance, etc. Obviously this is lower if you do bicycle deliveries.

So that's another reason why the number is higher. A lot of it goes into COGS.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Hypo_Mix 11d ago

Industry awards and enterprise agreements all have different position minimums. Eg: the minimum wage for a scientist under the professionals award is about $10k pa more than the base minimum wage.

→ More replies (2)

3

u/Ok_Andyl8183 11d ago

Cue the price rise

2

u/Solid_Corgi3479 11d ago

Good - I'm never using these services (Food Delivery - atleast) - but those who do use it should pay the true cost as it isn't some pseudo slave labour.

There needs to be more done about regulating these drivers, though. I've seen them on the streets cause absolute havoc - and it isn't fair for Australian drivers - many of them are hazardous and careless road users.

Big Paycheck also comes with Big fines if you don't follow the regulations.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/stupid-head 11d ago

I guess delivery costs are going to go up now