The New South Wales coroner is considering an inquest into the deaths of four food delivery riders killed in road accidents between October and November 2020.
After last year’s government taskforce into the gig economy, the NSW coroner’s court confirmed it may launch an inquiry into the deaths of three Uber Eats delivery riders – Dede Fredy, Bijoy Paul and Ik Wong, as well as the death of Hungry Panda rider Xiaojun Chen.
Fredy, a 36-year-old man from Indonesia, died on 27 September 2020 after he was hit by a car in Sydney while delivering food. Paul, a 27-year-old man from Bangladesh, was hit by a car in Rockdale in November 2020 while on a delivery for Uber Eats. Wong also died in November, while 43-year-old Chen died in hospital in October after his motorcycle collided with a bus in Zetland.
Guardian Australia understands deputy coroner Derek Lee is currently collecting evidence and documents used as part of the government taskforce.
The Transport Workers’ Union has urged the coroner to proceed with the inquest, and also include the death of Burak Doğan as part of any investigation. Doğan, a 30-year-old student from Turkey, was hit and killed on 2 April 2020 in Sydney. According to the ABC’s Background Briefing program, his death was not reported as a workplace fatality because his last trip was cancelled 25 minutes before he was killed.
Doğan was still logged into the UberEats app when he was killed, the ABC reported. The NSW coroner had already decided against an inquest into his death.
The TWU national secretary, Michael Kaine, said investigations were long overdue.
“NSW coronial inquests would shine a spotlight on the deadly pressures on food delivery riders,” he said. “Industrial pressures remain to this day and any finding that these pressures contributed to the deaths of these riders should ring alarm bells in parliament and inform regulation to prevent worker deaths in the future.
“The families of riders’ killed continue to grapple with the indescribable loss of their loved one and deserve answers. That’s why these inquests must proceed.”
A spokesperson for Uber said safety was fundamental to the company’s platform.
“Any fatality on our roads is one too many. The loss of Dede Fredy, Bijoy Paul and Ik Wong is devastating and our thoughts are with their family and friends,” the spokesperson said.
“As part of our commitment to safety, last year we accelerated our product roadmap in support of safe delivery. This included the launch of a range of safety initiatives aimed at helping delivery people stay safe on our roads, such as the rollout of personal protective equipment, in-app tech features and education modules which have been built specifically for the Australian market.”
The deaths of five riders in the state in the space of two months in late 2020 led to the NSW government establishing the taskforce to investigate the state of the food delivery industry.
SafeWork NSW conducted observations of 214 riders and issued seven improvement notices to food delivery platforms, as well as 28 warnings to riders over lack of adequate PPE or safety concerns.
The final action plan delivered in April last year was criticised by the Transport Workers’ Union and riders for only recommending minor changes to the industry, such as design changes to the app or “improved bag ergonomics”.
The NSW government was due to finalise new laws to improve safety practices at the end of 2021, however the legislation has yet to be introduced into the NSW parliament.
The state government in August was hailing safety improvements in the sector, stating there were only six reported rider injuries between April and June last year, down 70% on the previous year.
Former Guardian Australia journalist Naaman Zhou’s reporting on the deaths of delivery riders and ongoing pay and safety issues in the industry in 2020 was awarded the public service journalism award at the Walkley Awards on Friday night.
The TWU, along with food delivery riders and family of a rider killed will hold a vigil outside the NSW crown solicitor’s office on Tuesday, joined by federal Labor shadow minister for industrial relations, Tony Burke.
Comment has been sought from Uber and Hungry Panda.
