Aotearoa Weekly Kōrero 1/8/2025
(lemmy.nz)
Welcome to this week’s casual kōrero thread!
This post will be pinned in this community so you can always find it, and will stay for about a week until replaced by the next one.
It’s for talking about anything that might not justify a full post. For example:
- Something interesting that happened to you
- Something humourous that happened to you
- Something frustrating that happened to you
- A quick question
- A request for recommendations
- Pictures of your pet
- A picture of a cloud that kind of looks like an elephant
- Anything else, there are no rules (except the rule)
So how’s it going?
I started working for UPS as a delivery driver in the USA and I am so surprised (and also sadly not surprised) at just how bad it is. Not just how demanding the work is, but:
Maybe I am spoilt after living and working in NZ and Europe, but it just seems so insane and such a horrible way to treat people.
Also I am dreams/nightmares about trying to find things quickly (like a package in a package car) or being stuck while driving 😅
Not spoilt. It is horrible. It's inhumane.
It's just pushing me even further to the orft than I already am 😅
So far orft it doesn't even look like the left anymore.
Righteous.
Lol
To be fair, in NZ I believe delivery drivers for NZ Post are contractors. So other than healthcare and unemployment, I think the rest would also apply here (including the chance of a crappy manager).
But it's something in the media from time to time, how it's pretty crappy to be a delivery driver.
I guess it is. I'd be really interested to know if it's the case in Germany/France. I know Uber is banned because they can't classify drivers as contractors, so I wonder if delivery companies face any of the same restrictions.
And maybe I wouldn't mind so much but my delivery route is kinda rural, so I'm delivering to Trump supporters and it's the combination of factors that get to me.
NZ Post are in court every few years about the status of delivery drivers as contractors. For a while they lose a case and they have to treat them as employees, then it gets overturned and they can be contractors again. The current government is planning on introducing a law that means if your contract says you're a contractor then you are, which is going to be ripe for abuse I'm expecting.
That does sound ripe for abuse. Probably opens up other opportunities for other sectors to start to classify people as contractors as well
I'm curious how long it will be until every minimum wage job is hiring "contractors" as standard, so they don't have to give them annual leave or sick pay or KiwiSaver.
Too depressing to think about :(