Captions by James Brown. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Tonight ` we love a cheap Uber fare, but at what cost? - With all the expenses and all, probably this week I would not even have done $12 an hour. - Uber drivers are fighting back and winning, but will they get a fair go? (HORNS HONK) - And she wanted a couple of specific screws to fix her camera. So why wouldn't the company sell them to her? - It's paying somebody to do something that I could do. - Plus, a scaled-down Kiwi treat. We go fishing for answers. - This strikes at the heart of our nation. - And reunited after 35 years ` a tale of a man and his mug. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023 - Tena koutou katoa. Welcome to the show. Thousands of Kiwis in our main centres catch Ubers daily. It's a convenient, low-cost way of getting from A to B. - Yes, but while the consumer may be winning, many drivers say they are struggling to make ends meet. Now hundreds of them have banded together to fight for better deal. - We've got a guest reporter this week. Here's TVNZ's chief correspondent, John Campbell. One of the reasons I love Fair Go is because it gives people a voice ` 46 years of it. Now, normally it's consumers. Tonight it's people whose services we consume. You may well be one of them ` a driver or someone who gets driven. And our question is, are we giving the people who work out there a fair go? - Probably this week I will not have done even $12 an hour. - I mean, I have to go home and tell my husband I earned only $50. (CHUCKLES) - Bloody well $5.28. - Anita, what happened here today? - Today we had our very first union meeting of union delegates. (HORNS HONK) The road is a workplace. Thousands of us earn a living out here ` trucks, couriers, taxis, ride shares. And many of those people have worked in a kind of nowhere land. Contract workers ` no paid annual leave, no sick pay, not even, sometimes, making minimum wage ` almost as if out here labour laws don't apply. But that's changing fast. - We had delegates in Auckland and Wellington and Christchurch, and so they all came together, you know, partly over Zoom, but also in person. We had, you know, discussions about how we're gonna organise Uber drivers around Aotearoa. Thank you so much, guys. - It was small, but the fact an Uber union with driver delegates even exists is an acorn of sorts. - Your passengers are gonna support you, because... - And it all started with an extraordinary Employment Court judgement, which said four Uber drivers were not independent contractors but employees. - Our victory against Uber, which was the 25th of October last year ` so it's only been a few months. - And how many members do you have now? - We've got slightly over 700 at the moment, which is pretty good going, I think. - How many hours do you do a week? - At least 50. - And how much money do you make after expenses? - Oh, after expenses, I might not even take $800. - Have you worked this morning? - Yes. - And how much did you make? - $50 ` here. - $50 for how many hours? - Uh, 6.30 till 10.30. - Four hours. - Four hours. - $50. - $50. - Before expenses. - Before expenses. - And... - That's $12.50 an hour. Tell me about your working day, as a rule. What time do you start? - Usually I'd drop my son off to school in the morning and start around 9-ish in the morning and finish by 9 o'clock at night. - 9 till 9? - 9 till 9. 12 hours. With approximately one hour of break, yeah, for sure. - And how many days a week do you do that? - I have to do six days at least, to make the ends meet. - What? You six days? - Six days, yeah. - So... So you're potentially working... six 12s is 72, minus an hour for lunch. - You're potentially working 65-hour weeks routinely. - Routinely. (HORNS HONK) - Uber's brilliance is that it looks like a transport company. But that's make-believe. For the most part, the drivers own the cars. Uber's vehicle is the app. 23 million times a day, globally, the app puts people and drivers together, and Uber gets a cut every time ` genius. But... if you are a driver with Uber doing, say, 50 hours a week ` and plenty of drivers do that many hours ` are you a contractor, as Uber claims, or are you an employee? Can you tell me about the Employment Court case? And I just want to read from the conclusion ` paragraph 93. 'Each of the plaintiff drivers was in an employment relationship when carrying out driver work for Uber.' What does that mean, Anita? - It means that it doesn't matter what label Uber put on that relationship with its drivers at the time. The law has looked at the reality of the relationship and determined that it was an employment relationship, and therefore those drivers were entitled to all of the things that you should get as an employee in New Zealand. (TCHAIKOVSKY'S 'DANCE OF THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY') - If Uber has a poster child location where the gig economy spins like a fruit machine, it's maybe at our biggest airports ` here it's Auckland, but it could be Wellington or Christchurch. A tide of industry ` people, cars, money. This is what drivers must imagine when they sign on, the work not stopping, the people and the money flooding in ` ka-ching! This is where they wait before they get to the front of the queue. The airport provides an area with facilities. Normally they'd be parked on a street or circling somewhere. And in the gig economy, when you wait for work, you're not being paid. (ANXIOUS MUSIC) And today they're waiting for up to four hours. And then if you get a fare into town, it's what, 50 bucks? - No, they give us $34 ` and if I'm lucky, if I get a fare to town. if I get a fair to Papatoetoe or Mangere, I'll be ending up with $15, which is not even... which is not even $5 per hour. - Hold on, how much would you get for 60 or 70 hours? - Maybe $1200, $1300. - That would be a good week. - And that's before expenses? - Yes. - Uber themselves do somewhat better. In the December '21 year, for example, total revenue ` $220 million. So each of these Ubers represents a million dollars. And tax? At $545,000 paid, that's just over half of one car. What does Uber say about all of this? Well, I contacted their Sydney office ` lots of emails ` they don't have an office in New Zealand, by the way ` to ask for an interview. My first email was to Emma Foley, Director, Driver and Marketplace for Australia and New Zealand. Here's what happened. I'm playing me; Emma Foley and all the Uber people who emailed me or didn't are being played by the brilliant Rebecca Palmer, who is Nurse Dawn on Shortland Street. (DRAMATIC 'SHORTLAND STREET' MUSIC) Kia ora, Emma. I'm working on a story on Uber NZ in the context of the Employment Court decision of last year. Obviously and importantly, I'd love to interview someone from Uber about this and wondered if you're the appropriate person. Emma, would you be available? - I'm O-O-O until 12th of May, spending some time with my family. For anything on New Zealand, please contact Anna. Regards, Emma. - Right. Kia ora, Anna. I just received this email from Emma. Anna, in Emma's absence, would it be possible to interview you for this? - Hi, John. Thanks for reaching out. Anna is out of the office right now, but I wanted to see if I could be of some help. Thanks. Hailey. - Right. Hailey. Hi. Thanks for reaching back. The story picks up on the Employment Court decision. It will also widen out to look at Uber's overall operations in NZ ` income, tax paid, staff, etc. All of it's based entirely on Uber's operations, so nothing you won't easily be able to answer. - Hi, John. Unfortunately, we don't have anyone available to do an on-camera interview at this time. Thanks. Hailey. (DRAMATIC 'SHORTLAND STREET' MUSIC) - What has Uber's response been to the Employment Court judgement? - Uber has applied to appeal the judgement, which is not a surprise, so we were expecting that, and we're still waiting to find out whether or not the Court of Appeal has approved or declined their application. But basically, you know, their response has been to, aside from applying to appeal it, more or less to ignore the judgement for the time being. - We need to say that the Employment Court was only ruling on four drivers, not all of them. But this vast, unruly workplace is changing, and it's important to stress that some drivers do Uber part-time or on top of other work. And for them, the contractor model works really well. But for those doing 50 hours a week out here and more, sometimes not making minimum wage, no paid annual leave, no sick pay, car costs, the endless traffic, is this model roadworthy ` not for the cars, but for the people? Do you feel like Uber treats you like you're a person? - I don't think so. For them, everything is robots. - Robots? - Yeah. - So you're just another car on the road? - Absolutely. Absolutely. - I just used them cos they were cheaper, and now I just feel a little bad, feel a little dirty. - I think you're probably not alone. Obviously we didn't have any luck getting a comment from Uber for that story. But following the Employment Court decision last year, they did issue a statement, saying it was proud to offer flexible work opportunities. - And it said instead of court decisions, Uber wanted proper reforms made in Parliament, and it was working on that process with the Government. - For an extended version of that story, go to 1news.co.nz/uber. And if you are wondering what you can do for Uber drivers in the meantime, do know that 100% of tips on the app do go to them. - Cash and kindness. E haere ake nei, coming up ` what on earth has happened to one of our beloved national treats? - Plunged my hand in. I was astounded at what came out. - And the right to repair. What if you want to fix something at home, but the company won't release the parts? - It's paying someone to do something that I could do. Kia ora. Nau mai, hoki mai ` welcome back. Number 8 wire ` it is a celebrated attitude in Aotearoa. We do love a bit of problem-solving. - We do. So the thrifty DIYer in our next story was more than a little miffed when she was told to send her second-hand camera back to its manufacturer, rather than fixing it herself. Gill has the story. - Sarah's busy, busy, busy. She's about to welcome thousands of Kiwis into her rural Canterbury home. - It really just started as a bit of a joke, sort of. (LAUGHS) - But with a YouTube channel and Facebook site, anything's possible. They allow Sarah to share cost-saving tips every week. - Just trying to help people get through the cost of living. Hi, guys. I'm Sarah. And today I'm just gonna show you a really simple two-ingredient bagel recipe. - She's dishing out all sorts of advice. - We're gonna build a sleepout right here. I can make these muesli bars for less than half price of the cheapest muesli bars. - But today, something a little more personal. Hi, I'm Sarah. And today we're gonna be talking about fixing your camera. - Actually her camera. She just wants two tiny screws to repair it. - I tried Bunnings. I tried Mitre 10. No luck. I went to Canon. They didn't want to send me the screws. So what do you do? Well, I went to Fair Go. - The camera that broke was second-hand. - One day I sorta noticed that this screen had a bit of a wobble going on on it. I literally need two screws. (LAUGHS) I have a screwdriver. - But Canon strongly advised her to post her camera to its service team in Auckland, saying this would guarantee the repairs met its quality standards, and because it might not be a simple job, as other internal screws could be missing. - If it was in warranty, I could understand that. - But it's not, so she'd have to pay. Canon says assessments typically cost $45, which could be waived if quick, and it estimates the repair would be about $67.50, plus postage on top. - Paying somebody to do something that I could do really easy myself and being without the camera for a week or two weeks or however long. - Our friends at Consumer feel her pain. In fact, Paul's been trying to fix this Dyson vacuum cleaner. - The trigger had broken. Not the battery, not the motor, nothing big, just the little plastic trigger. - He believes Dyson should stock them, but says they don't. Similarly, he believes it should be easy for Sarah to get her screws. - Really, Canon should just be supplying the parts. - So, Canon would say it's offering the best service it can, and it's because there is potentially another problem with the camera. - It doesn't feel like a highly technical specialist fix that Canon need to do themselves. It's not in the interest of Canon to make those parts available, because if they control the repairing, they get the extra income from doing the repairs. - Now, remember, Sarah's a self-proclaimed proud penny pincher. - Two cups of Greek yoghurt. Of course, I make my own Greek yoghurt. - And she's got number eight wire flowing through her veins. - So, I'm making my own wine at the moment. I make my own crackers and my own cottage cheese. And DIY playground ` we managed to find the screws for that. - So Sarah, being Sarah, was set on repairing her camera herself. - I took apart an old pair of glasses and I found a little screw that sort of just held it in place. OK, but you know, it's still a bit rickety. - Hmm. She could only use the camera facing down, which means cooking videos and not much else. So she wanted the right screws, which is why she came to Fair Go for help. Some people might say, 'Really? You're going to Fair Go over to tiny little screws?' - Yeah. (LAUGHS) Yeah. I mean, not everyone can afford that sort of thing these days. - And it's about the principle, the right to repair ` by yourself or with a little help, like these old hands at the Massey Men's Shed. - Being an older person, we always fix things. - But they agree it's harder to now. Graeme says he could fix any problem in his car back in the day. - These days, it's all sealed up, and you can't get in there. You're stuck with having to take it back to the dealership or a garage. - But some of the big players are changing ` slowly. Take iPhones. Until recently, Apple only let its authorised service providers do its repairs. Now it's got DIY repair stores overseas, with parts for sale and tools for rent. And what about John Deere tractors ` the real ones? Until this year, only authorised technicians could do repairs, but US farmers piled on the pressure, and John Deere made its manuals and tools available, so farmers could choose where the work was done. So what about Canon? It told us in some cases it does provide spare parts, and items like screws would be free. So we thought this was gonna be an easy fix. Sarah thought she just needed a couple of the right little screws, and I got in touch with Canon and said I could take them to her. But no ` Canon still said Sarah's camera needed to be looked at by its service team. Consumer says it should be a customer's choice, whatever needs fixing. - If you want to repair it yourself, if you want to take it apart, if you want to give it to an independent repairer, whatever you want to do, that's your responsibility. And all they're doing here is obstructing that. - Sarah could have made a stand, but Canon then made her an offer she couldn't refuse. - They said they'd do the repair free of charge, and apparently a service that they offer to professional photographers ` so I'm a professional (LAUGHS) ` is that they actually send them a camera to use while theirs is being replaced. That's brilliant for me, but it feels as though they wouldn't be doing it if I hadn't gone to you guys. You don't want every man and his dog coming ` and I'm sure Canon don't, either ` coming to Fair Go to, you know, get a free camera repair. - As a New Zealander, it is my God-given right to be able to open something up and mostly get it back together with a few spare parts. - Mostly? This sounds like very bad advice. Now, if your Canon camera is out of warranty and needs fixing, Canon says you have two options ` you can send it in for repair or request the parts. You just might just have to be very clear that you want to do it yourself. - And you shouldn't really DIY anything that's still under warranty, because tinkering with it can void the warranty, but Haydo says, just back yourself. - And I say, don't always listen to Haydo. E haere ake nei, coming up ` Haydo is digging deep in the mailbag to solve an issue or two up and down the motu. - This strikes at the heart of our nation. Haydo, you need to get on to this, please, and now. Kia ora. Nau mai, hoki mai ` welcome back. Now, there are many things we love about Fair Go, but at the top of the list is trying to solve problems for you, both big and small. - That's why the next segment is one of my favourites. You guessed it ` it's Haydo's Mailbag. Give it a try. - Welcome to Haydo's mailbag. We start tonight with fish ` the chocolate kind. - Fair Go. Hadyn Jones. - Yep, that's me. - Our nation is in crisis, mate. - Leslie from Marokopa was worried about her chocolate fish. - It's my simple, simple pleasure. I love it. Rainbow brand. Plunged my hand in. I was astounded at what came out. - Her fish, you see, had shrunk. - No, the whole bag was filled with them. Unbelievable. - It was the same with Pam's. - Literally, our national icon has been eroded. The strikes at the heart of our nation. Haydo, you need to get on to this, please, and now. Rainbow Confectionery, who also produce Pam's, are based right here in Oamaru ` I'd even been there before ` which just happens to be the unofficial confectionary capital of New Zealand. Bet you didn't know that. I've just learnt it. Rainbow general manager Brent Bailey says it was all about giving the customer more fish for the same price. This was a regrettable attempt to increase the number of pieces while maintaining the same bag weights. However, they have taken notice and have reverted back to our traditional sized baby fish. Rainbow then dropped a bombshell, a chocolate bombshell about their competitors. Customers were never short changed, as we have seen with repeat shrinkflation of Pascal pineapple lumps, which have recently changed from a 140g bag to a 120g bag. Pascal confirmed this, saying it was a difficult decision, and blamed rising prices. Hmm. - Hi, Haydo. Why is it when you get these McCain Lil' Pizzas, you get double the pizza, but less than what you bargained for? - Jordan from Christchurch had a pizza issue. - It's not four individually wrapped pizzas. It's two conjoined pizzas. - He thought he was getting four pizzas, but... - Now, I'm no mathematician. - ...could only count two. - Last time I checked, one and one equals two and not four, so... is this four pizzas, or is this false advertising? What's going on? - Well, McCain ` you've done it again ` say it's meant to be like this. McCain's Lil' Pizza range are packaged joined together and designed to be easily separated into two pizzas. They are intended to be enjoyed is individual pizzas. Janine from Auckland wrote to us about Penati Crackers. Her crackers don't fill the packet, and the packet doesn't fill the box. Crackers are a regular in Haydo's Mailbag. - This much of the box is not used. - Gidday. Don here from Penati Crackers. - Penati Crackers are based in Wanaka, and they have a specific problem. - And the challenge in being a small New Zealand company is that we only have one boxing machine, that makes this box. - So the new crackers were put in the existing box. - The alternative was to make a smaller box that we'd have to hand-glue, and that was gonna push the price up too high. - And we finish tonight with a bouquet. - Hello, Haydo. Check this out. - Barry in Christchurch has had the same mug for 35 years ` until it broke. He rang about buying a replacement. Dilmah did something better. - Dilmah have sent me a nice new mug, with the lid. Amazing. Cheers, Dilmah. - And that is Haydo's Mailbag for this week. Ka kite! Au revoir! Bon appetit! See you later! Look at the size of that whopper. The world has returned to normal. - Well done! - We can move on. Very good. - We should celebrate that. - Oh, no, sorry, I've just about run out. - (LAUGHS) That's it from us, but if you only caught part of the show, you can catch all of it on the Fair Go page on TVNZ+ whenever you want, because we are always here to help. - Our programme ` never talk with your mouth full ` is about your consumer aches and pains, so please get in touch. - Yes, we're on Facebook and Instagram. You can go to our webpage, which is tvnz.co.nz, email us ` fairgo@tvnz.co.nz ` or write to us ` PO Box 3819, Auckland 1140. Thank you for watching. Happy fishing, New Zealand. - Do you want one? Hey, get out of it! - Thank you. - Until next week... - BOTH: Pomarie.