The gig economy soared to new heights as people were restricted to stay-at-home orders but new research highlights the high injury rates among the sector
You may not have heard of the gig economy, but you have almost certainly used its services.
From Uber Eats, to Deliveroo and Menulog, these services are removing connection and enhancing convenience.
At the click of a button, users can select from nearby restaurants and have their food delivered to their door within minutes.
But new research from Macquarie University has found gig economy workers who are delivering meals on bikes, are getting hurt while they’re on the job.
SafeWork NSW reported 37 pedal cycling injuries that were linked with commercial delivery between 2019 and 2020.
However, researchers found at least 43 cycling-related injuries during the same period.
“For 172 of these records, 46 per cent, we couldn’t confirm their work status; but of the remaining records, we were able to identify 43 (12 per cent) commercial delivery cyclists and 153 (42 per cent) non-commercial cyclists.”
Dr MITCHELL SARKIES, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY
TICKER NEWS spoke with Dr Mitchell Sarkies from Macquarie University, who found these workers were injured from crashing or coming off their bike.
“But they kept delivering to the end of their shift before going to the ED and discovering they had a concussion or fracture,” he says.
Around one-third of Australians use a meal delivery service. Meanwhile, around 81 million users are on Uber Eats in the U.S., which makes it the most popular single app delivery service.
Who are these workers?
These cyclists are predominantly male and likely to be younger in age. In most cases, they are likely to have a primary language other than English.
“These figures support previous claims that suggest most commercial delivery cyclists are temporary migrants in Australia,” Dr Sarkies said.
Dr Lauren Christie from St Vincent Health Network told TICKER NEWS “there was a high incidence of minor injuries in relation to broken bones, people experiences falls, grazes and scrapes, as well as some other injuries as well.”
“It will be really important moving forward that we look at ways that we can improve the accuracy of the data.”
DR LAUREN CHRISTIE, ST VINCENT’S HEALTH NETWORK
Dr Christie believes more training and safety practices should be put in place to protect these “inexperienced, and vulnerable road users”.
Costa is a news producer at ticker NEWS. He has previously worked as a regional journalist at the Southern Highlands Express newspaper. He also has several years' experience in the fire and emergency services sector, where he has worked with researchers, policymakers and local communities. He has also worked at the Seven Network during their Olympic Games coverage and in the ABC Melbourne newsroom.
He also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Professional), with expertise in journalism, politics and international relations. His other interests include colonial legacies in the Pacific, counter-terrorism, aviation and travel.
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