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Caught Between Survival and Heat: Australian Food Delivery Workers Face Extreme Workplace Risks.
The heat waves across Australian metropolitan areas are putting food delivery workers into dangerous working environments, creating a growing occupational health concern. Delivery riders, many of whom ride bicycles, are trying to find a balance between their need for income and the increasing risk to their health as they deliver food in temperatures that are nearing 45 degrees Celsius. He continued to state, "There needs to be more protection for delivery riders. I have to meet very strict delivery deadlines, and if I do not meet the deadlines, I will receive a permanent delivery ban."
The university research conducted by Professor Amelia Thorpe (UNSW) indicates that the current level of demand for food delivery services increases in extreme heat, due to people not wanting to go outside. Therefore, this creates the paradox that delivery riders will always be forced to work in the most dangerous conditions possible to provide service, while the demand for their work continues to increase. Additionally, a peer-reviewed research study published in Energy and Buildings states that the Urban Heat Island Effect compounds the dangers exposure to extreme heat has on outdoor workers particularly those who work outdoors in the heat during peak sunlight hours.
According to Alexi Edwards, an Australia-based delivery rider, and others like her, they also face the same extreme heat that has taken them through multiple hours of wearing heavy and protective gear. The result is workers making a difficult choice between suffering for their health and providing for their families. The climate crisis is going to continue to increase the frequency and intensity of heat waves in our communities. Experts say there is an urgent need for the delivery industry to put in place mechanisms to protect delivery riders such as providing flexible work schedules, to design working environments and to provide delivery riders with a support system in place to compensate for working in extreme weather and heat conditions.
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