The Australian state of New South Wales has ordered services that use self-employed drivers to deliver products, such as those on Amazon.com, to pay them minimum wage, the first such decision in the world.
The decision, to be implemented in three years from March 1, requires companies that hire drivers who drive their own vehicles to pay a minimum of A$37.80 (US$27.20). per hour in Australia’s most populous state.
That makes the state, which is home to Amazon’s Australian operations headquarters, the first place where the retail giant must pay statutory wages to contractors, the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) said.
“For a long time, companies like Amazon have been able to exploit loopholes with independent contractors to circumvent rights and deny workers fair wages,” said union national secretary Michael Kaine.
An Amazon spokesperson said the company is “delighted to continue to offer Amazon Flex delivery partners competitive compensation, as well as the flexibility to work when it’s convenient for them.”
The minimum wage rule applies to all companies that hire delivery drivers with cars weighing less than two tonnes, according to a decision by the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission. Amazon is the number one employer of drivers. of small cars with thousands of contractors in the state, says the union.
“Given the parties’ allegations and evidence, I am convinced that the proposed variations will result in fair and reasonable conditions for contracted carriers,” commissioner Damian Sloan wrote in the decision.
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