PerthNow (14.05.2018) Ride-sharing giant Uber and online platforms like food delivery app Deliveroo will face government regulation to protect workers’ rights, Industrial Relations Minister Bill Johnston has vowed. Mr Johnston said players in the so-called gig economy were guilty of “driving wages down and reducing benefits for workers”, and predicted government regulation was inevitable. The WA Government is now considering whether the sector needs to be brought under the State’s industrial relations system. That would force Uber, food-delivery apps Uber Eats and Deliveroo, and local services marketplace Airtasker to pay insurance, workers’ compensation and, potentially, award wages. The platforms and others like them have sparked a boom in temporary, contract and part-time work, allowing people to work when, where and how it suits them. But they operate outside normal workplace laws, and those who sign up are not considered employees, instead classified as independent contractors — meaning they have few rights.