(Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. agreed to back any new legislation in Australia that would set minimum wages for rideshare and food delivery drivers and allow them to join a union, a concession from the technology company as gig workers worldwide battle for improved pay and benefits. 

After months of talks with the Transport Workers’ Union of Australia, Uber said Tuesday it would support the creation of an independent body that would set industry standards on earnings, benefits and conditions for gig workers. They should also have the right to join a union and collectively bargain, Uber said.

Australia’s new Labor government, elected in May, has said it plans to introduce legislation to better protect and establish minimum standards for gig workers. It’s a step being replicated from Europe to the US, as app-based companies like Uber and Doordash Inc. that rely on casual, flexible workers upend traditional employee models.

“TWU and Uber support regulatory certainty for platforms and the provision of minimum benefits and standards for platform workers who aren’t engaged as employees, while preserving the flexibility inherent in platform work,” Uber and the TWU said in a statement.

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