Over a hundred transport workers will protest in Canberra today, over Amazon's entry into grocery delivery at Harris Farm, using a gig model, Amazon Flex, which exploits workers with a complete lack of standards, algorithmic management, and threatens good transport businesses.
The protests come as Amazon attempts to delay the TWU's application to introduce fair minimum standards in the last mile delivery sector.
In January, Amazon joined Harris Farm to begin its first Australian grocery delivery service, which risks lowering standards even further in road transport, already Australia's deadliest industry. At Amazon Flex, workers use family cars crammed with boxes and have no minimum standards like other transport employees, creating huge safety risks and triggering an existential threat for good transport businesses.
The protests come as the TWU gathers for its National Council in a pivotal year for the union, with negotiations for over 200 transport agreements across the road transport and aviation in progress. Tens of thousands of transport workers will have the potential right to take protected industrial action from July if companies refuse to lift standards.
Workers are demanding wealthy transport clients like Amazon end the deadly squeeze on transport workers by paying their fair share to fund fair and safe standards.
So far this year, there have been 69 truck-related deaths on our roads and 673 businesses have gone insolvent.
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said:
"The Amazon effect is exploiting workers and putting good Australian transport companies out of business. Its incursion into grocery delivery through Harris Farm accelerates what is already deadly pressure in this industry, which makes our roads riskier.
"What we have to ask ourselves as a community is whether having your fruit and vegetables delivered in an hour is worth workers dying on our roads and undermining the viability of good Australian businesses doing the right thing.
"In 2021 thousands of transport workers took action over job security concerns as Amazon Flex emerged as a new threat, slashing standards and threatening good Australian transport businesses. Now its exploitative conditions and algorithmic management of people's lives is at crisis level.
"We can't accept wealthy transport clients fleecing workers, trashing safety protections and trying to impose new technologies without actively involving workers. We need to make sure the future of our industries benefits workers and the community instead of foreign billionaires lining their pockets.
"The message to Amazon and every outlier dragging this industry down is clear: it's time to pay up for decent jobs and stop undercutting decent Australian businesses."
