Four-year-old Azka is getting used to a new phrase in his vocabulary: "My father has passed away." They are an enormous five words for a small boy to carry.
Key points:
- Over recent months there have been five deaths involving food delivery riders
- As independent contractors, delivery riders are not entitled to the same rights as employees
- The deaths have underscored a union campaign for stronger protections for gig economy workers
In September 2020, Azka's dad, 36-year-old Dede Fredy, was hit by a car in Sydney's Marrickville while working as a food delivery rider for Uber Eats.
He was the first of five riders across various companies to die while on the job nationally in the coming months, renewing scrutiny on the multi-million-dollar online food delivery industry, which relies heavily on low-paid workers from overseas.
Upon hearing her husband had died, the first thought of Mr Fredy's widow, Nyoman Sunarti, was how to explain it to their son, Azka: "How would I answer him?"
Speaking to 7.30 for the first time from her parents' village home in north-west Bali, Ms Sunarti revealed Uber had not contacted her in the five months since her husband's death.
"Uber has not contacted me at all. Only the insurance company to provide them with my husband's documents," she said through a translator.
'My husband stopped breathing. I saw it happen'
Ms Sunarti first heard about her husband's collision in Marrickville on September 24 from a friend in Australia who messaged her.
"He was still alive but in a critical condition in the hospital's ICU," she said.
"While he was in ICU, I couldn't sleep. I kept praying for a miracle from God to grant him a speedy recovery. But God had another plan."
The doctors said her husband had suffered irreparable brain damage.
Ms Sunarti was unable to fly to Sydney, and watched Mr Fredy's life support being switched off from Bali.
"On the 27th of September, we had a video call to watch them turn off his respirator. All our family members were on the video call as well," she said.
"They took off his respirator at 6:00pm and my husband stopped breathing. I saw it happen. I really hoped that he could be breathing again, but the doctors said that there was no chance.
"I get sad when I think about how I used to tell my husband everything.
"Now, I have no-one to talk to."
Dreams of a better future
Dede Fredy left Indonesia in 2019 with the hope of earning a better living in Australia, using the money from his delivery work to provide for his family.
Both parents worked in restaurants and hotels, but it was not enough for their dream to buy a home in Bali, so Mr Fredy went to Sydney to find work.
"It was for Azka's future," Ms Sunarti said.
"We made a difficult decision because we had been together for four years, but still we couldn't afford to pay for our son's future."
Last year, Ms Sunarti lost her job because of the pandemic and moved to live with her parents, who work in the verdant rice paddies.
In the meantime, Mr Fredy sent part of his Uber Eats earnings back — he set aside about $175 a week for his wife and son, while supporting himself in one of Australia's most expensive cities.
"My late husband was a kind man," Ms Sunarti said.
"He loved our son and was dedicated to his family. He was a good father.
"When I had to work and he was at home, he was the one taking care of Azka. He helped me with household chores as well.
"When he was with his friends, he was a humorous man. He was also kind to them. All his friends liked him. When they heard about this accident they were all shocked, they couldn't believe it."
'They're dying without these companies blinking'
The five deaths have heaped pressure on the food delivery companies, with the Federal and New South Wales governments expressing concern about workplace safety in the sector.
Delivery riders are independent contractors and have fewer rights compared to employees, such as a minimum wage, superannuation and paid leave.
The Transport Workers' Union (TWU) argues the system is designed to exploit workers and allows companies, such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Menulog, Hungry Panda and DoorDash, to divest themselves of responsibility to their riders.
"They're dying without these companies blinking," Michael Kaine, national secretary of the TWU, said.
"For them, it's just a blip on the bottom line."
Calls for change to contractor status
In NSW, independent contractors are not entitled to the government workers' compensation scheme for death and injury on the job.
Some companies, such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Menulog, cover contractors with a private insurance policy, but the union says the payout is significantly less than that provided by the government scheme.
The NSW government insurer, icare, said it "proactively lodged claims for four food delivery riders killed in NSW and is investigating the eligibility for workers compensation benefits".
Uber declined to be interviewed but told 7.30 in a statement its insurance policy did offer adequate protections, and it called for all companies to introduce mandatory insurance policies.
"Our hearts go out to the family and friends impacted by the recent, devastating events," Uber said.
"Everyone, regardless of whether they are an employee or contractor, should be covered if they are involved in an accident at work."
Uber said it could not comment on specific cases.
The TWU is now hoping to use Mr Fredy's case, and the death of another Uber Eats rider, 27-year-old Bijoy Paul from Bangladesh, as part of a test case in the court system, arguing they should be treated as employees and their families should have equal access to compensation under the government scheme.
Bijoy Paul's sister, Shimu, told 7.30 she wanted to see delivery riders treated equally.
"If my brother had worked in the kitchen at McDonald's and he had died at work, my family would be entitled to workers compensation," she said.
"But my brother was delivering the McDonald's food, not cooking it."
Mr Paul was hit by a car in Sydney's Rockdale in November last year, and was studying for a master's degree in engineering. He would have graduated this year.
"He had a promising career ahead of him and he didn't deserve to die at all — that's why I think people should know the story of Bijoy," Ms Paul said.
"It's a massive loss for my parents. We're struggling at the moment. He was not only my brother, he was my best friend."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTAyLTA5L2V4Y2x1c2l2ZS11YmVyLWVhdHMtZGVkZS1mcmVkeS1yaWRlcnMtZGVhdGhzLWZhbWlsaWVzLXNwZWFrLW91dC8xMzExODEzMNIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMzExODEzMA?oc=5
2021-02-08 20:02:00Z
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