Many gig workers are Pakeha, have a degree and earn little - survey

Wednesday, 14 July 2021

First Union and E tū are preparing to file a court case against Uber to improve drivers’ work conditions.

A survey of gig workers shows that they are more than likely to be Pakeha, live in Auckland and have a bachelor’s degree.

The survey is part of a report by First Union renewing a call for improved working conditions for gig workers, which was presented to Parliament on Wednesday morning.

The report, Gig Work in Aotearoa, follows news that the First and E tū unions plan to file a case in the Employment Court on behalf of Uber drivers, seeking to have them declared employees rather than contractors.

The union say that as self-employed contractors, gig workers fall into a legal grey area, without many of the protections of traditional permanent employment or much wage bargaining clout.

Should Uber drivers be entitled to the minimum wage and holiday pay? Well, according to the United Kingdom's highest court, the answer to that question is a resounding yes.

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In the report, a snapshot of 95 workers taken late last year showed that in contrast to stereotypes, gig workers were mostly well educated and a large number were not from ethnic minorities.

A food delivery worker on a Beijing street in January. E-commerce workers and delivery people kept China fed during the pandemic, but also made workers unhappy about their pay and treatment.

Sixty per cent had a tertiary qualification and more than a third held a bachelor’s degree, with only a fifth having only a secondary school or no qualification.

Just under half lived in Auckland, and nearly 57 per cent identified as New Zealand European, with just under a fifth as Indian.

Most workers were younger than the workforce at large. A third were in their 30s and a fifth were winding down towards retirement.

The precariousness of their work was evident in their income. Most said they were supplementing their income on top of another job or could not find full-time employment.

For half, it was their main form of income. Two thirds received no support from Work and Income, and more than half estimated their hourly income was less than the minimum wage, after expenses.

The report said this echoed a July 2018 survey by the New Zealand Rideshare Drivers Network, which found 76 per cent of rideshare drivers in Aotearoa received less than the minimum wage (at the time, $16.50 per hour) after costs were taken into account.

The report said it believed many gig workers were likely to be entitled to WINZ support.

“It will take further engagement to clarify this matter, as well as why this is the case: whether workers are ineligible or do not know how to apply,” it said.

“This is an area where collective organisation – through a union or similar – could help to clarify what workers are eligible for and thereby assist to boost their incomes.”

Uber drivers in the UK celebrate a court ruling that they should be considered workers, with certain rights under UK law.

Most of those in the survey were either in ride sharing or delivery work, and two thirds were men.

However, the report noted that there were other types of gig work underway in New Zealand such as surveys, labour hire, casual temp work on platforms like Sidekicker, and online sex work.

The report calls on the Government to extend standard minimum entitlements to gig economy workers.

Shortly before Covid-19, the Government asked for input on protecting contractors but First Union maintains many independent contractors are actually gig workers and incorrectly classified

Gig work was also addressed in the Productivity Commission’s recent Future of Work report, and this week the Government responded, saying Statistics NZ would lead work to measure the gig economy.

The issue would also be considered by the Future of Work Tripartite Forum.

In the meantime, First Union and E tū are filing a case in the Employment Court, seeking a determination that Uber drivers are employees rather than contractors.

In December last year the Employment Court ruled against an Uber driver, who argued that he was an employee of Uber and tried to make a claim for an unjustified dismissal.

But in a landmark case in February, the UK Supreme Court upheld a 2016 case that Uber drivers should be considered workers.

“Gig workers currently have no voice at work, and lack protections and fair remuneration for what are precarious and difficult jobs,' Anita Rosentreter, First Union’s strategic project co-ordinator said.

The court case was “the beginning of an important process that could have far-reaching benefits for workers who are currently misclassified as contractors.”

In response, Uber reiterated the Employment Court's 2020 ruling and said its drivers valued the flexibility they had.

“A switch to set-shift work would undermine their reasons for choosing to drive in the first place,” a spokeswoman said.

Uber said it continued to look at ways to improve the quality of on-demand work, while retaining its two key features, “low barriers to earning income, and the flexibility to work when you want”.

But Council of Trade Unions secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges said that New Zealanders had an expectation that everyone would have some basic rights at work.

“We are deeply concerned that precarious work is frequently really bad for working people. Insecure work equals insecure income,” she said.