"Coles team members are not impacted by this partnership and there is a clear distinction between the roles of Coles team members and third-party courier pickers," the spokeswoman said.

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Uber has long argued that its workers value the flexibility of choosing their own hours and receive fair pay.

Josh Cullinan, secretary of the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union, said the pact was “ringing alarm bells” and would worry Coles staff.

“Using Uber in the way that’s being described would appear to fundamentally undermine the minimum conditions ... for pickers, packers and drivers working for Coles,” said Cullinan.

Coles and Uber have separate pacts with the Transport Workers Union, which is much larger than RAFFWU and has been critical of the gig economy sector, but welcomed the presence of Uber couriers at Coles.

"Today’s announcement is a potential breakthrough for embedding decency at the heart of on-demand work," said Michael Kaine, the union's national secretary. "A major company like Coles would only take this step because it was confident that core industry standards will be upheld."

The union’s pact with Coles requires it to ensure any “on demand” workers such as Uber riders receive “appropriate payments” as well as other entitlements, union representation and superannuation. Uber and the union have agreed to work together to back minimum standards for the gig industry, as the federal government has proposed, but not legislated.

“We will monitor this hawkishly to make sure it lives up to its potential,” Kaine said in a statement.

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In a brief statement, an Uber spokeswoman said: “We're excited to be extending our partnership with Coles to bring the largest national on-demand grocery delivery offering to Aussie customers, with thousands of fresh produce and everyday grocery items available for order on-demand.”

Uber and Coles first attempted a partnership in 2019, allowing Uber Eats orders from a handful of supermarkets, but it fizzled out.

DoorDash’s local boss, Rebecca Burrows, would not comment directly on Coles’ tie-up with Uber, but said her company was “thrilled” to be offering the supermarket’s products on its app, which will continue despite the Uber partnership.

“As the demand for home delivery increases, DoorDash is recognising the need to provide even more advanced, reliable and accessible grocery options,” Burrows said in a statement.