The Transport Workers Union (TWU) says thirteen food delivery workers have died in Australia since 2017. Source: Pacopac, Wikimedia Commons
Uber Eats delivery rider, Adil Abbas, was killed on the job when his motorbike collided with a Ute in Sydney last week.
The 19-year-old international student arrived from Pakistan last month to study information technology in Sydney, and it was his third day on the job as an Uber Eats delivery worker.
Mr Abbas is the second food delivery worker to be killed in Sydney in a month, after the death of 22-year-old Indian student Akashy Doultani.
Mr Abbas’s family had taken out a loan for him to study in Australia.
Like many international students, Mr Abbas had hoped that studying in Australia would lead him to good job prospects and allow him to support his family in the future.
“Adil brought a mountain of dreams with him,” his cousin Asad Ali told the ABC.
“Everything is flat now.”
Pakistani community leaders said that changes to NSW driver’s license rules are needed to help keep food delivery workers safe.
Currently, temporary visa card holders can drive legally on NSW roads for six months before having to pass a test.
Shafqat Ali, president of PakOz, a Pakistani community group, said this six month period leaves inexperienced drivers like Mr Abbas in danger when having to navigate very different roads to what they are used to.
“They are allowed to drive on their overseas licence … for long hours without knowing the Australian conditions,” Ali said.
“If any person who comes from overseas wants to do a job in delivery, they should be forced to get a knowledge test as a minimum.”
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) said that Mr Abbas is the thirteenth food delivery driver to have died in Australia since 2017.
“These workers are being killed on our roads and these companies have to step up and take responsibility,” TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said.
“What we need is a system in place that brings these gig economies back into play.
“It requires them to ensure that workers are paid enough so they don’t have to rush to their deaths, and the work time pressures that are on them are lifted.”
