The gig economy
place.
“It’s opening up a massive amount of exploitation for young people,” he said.
“While not everyone is being ripped off … there is a risk of people being ripped off.
“I feel sorry for young people and the type of labour market they have come into.”
The State Government ordered the gig economy survey of more than 14,000 people as part of its ondemand workforce inquiry.
According to the survey, about four out of five workers said the money they made totalled less than half their usual annual income.
About half of respondents said the money they made was “nice to have but can live without it”, but this wasn’t the case for 15.4 per cent who said it was “essential for meeting their basic needs”. The survey also found: AIRTASKER was the most popular gig economy app, used by a third of workers;
WOMEN were half as likely to work in the gig economy as men;
ALMOST half of gig economy workers work for less than five hours a week; and
WORKERS were frustrated by the low pay but satisfied with the flexibility of being their own boss.
The Australian minimum wage is $19.49 per hour, almost three times the $7 per hour I earned from Airtasker in a day.
While the pocket-moneylike cash is a secondary income to most, it’s the 15 per cent of workers that rely on it who could struggle to survive.
A Geelong UberEats rider said he decided to take part in the gig economy to make a bit of extra money on the side while riding his bike.
He said he makes $6 to $7 per trip, but it would be hard to do the job full-time.
“I personally find its purpose is to alleviate expenses as a secondary income,” he said.
But it’s the people who rely on this income to make ends meet who are potentially being ripped off by employers or ‘taskers’ who are able to pay as little as they please for jobs to be done.
Yes, it’s flexible, it allows for people to ask for more payment, but most of the time this option is redundant because people who are desperate for work will not risk giving up the task to ask for more money, so they will accept the small payment.
Australian gig economy workers need to know their worth, stand by their payment rate and try not to settle for less if they can help it.