Patrick Begley
The death Uber Eats disowned
This episode of Background Briefing from ABC Radio National comes from Eda Gunaydin (coincidentally, the author of one of the recommended pieces above!): 'It really stuck with me as an empathetic and effortful piece of journalism that delves into the scourge of food delivery services and the gig economy, who have basically kept us aloft throughout 2021, but who we are often inclined to treat as non-people, given their class & migrant worker status.' (Note on access: this audio recording is accompanied by a transcript.)
'Burak cancelled his last delivery at 12.25pm. He was hit by the truck at 12.50pm. So he fell outside this critical insurance window by 10 minutes.
10 minutes which meant that in the eyes of Uber Eats, he wasn't at work and that made the difference between nothing and upwards of 400,000 dollars.'