Gig companies seek to convince US govt over worker status reclassification

Amid growing pressure by the US administration on reclassifying ride-hail and food delivery workers as employees, gig economy companies are pushing to keep their drivers' independent contractor status. 

These companies that include Uber, Instacart argue that surveys suggest that most of their workers do not want to be employees.

They also said that these workers want to remain flexible with the amount and type of work. 

Gig companies also hope that US President Joe Biden will able to understand their point and drop the idea of reclassification, reports Al Jazeera. 

However, US Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh on Thursday in an interview said that "a lot of gig workers should be classified as employees", reports news agency Reuters. 

There was a fall of as much as 12 per cent on shares of Uber Technologies Inc, Lyft Inc and DoorDash after Walsh's remarks. 

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and Postmates came together to form the App-Based Work Alliance less than two weeks after Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election 2020. 

After Walsh's comments, the group on Thursday said it looked forward to working with the secretary to have "much-needed discussions about advancing modern policies that protect worker independence and flexibility while strengthening benefits and protections."