The App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) – the union for private hire drivers and couriers – led a 24-hour national strike for Uber drivers from midnight on Tuesday 21 June until 23:59 on Wednesday 22 June.
The Union say Uber drivers are facing an unprecedented cost of living crisis due to fuel inflation running at 44%, vehicle costs up 28% and household inflation up 7.8%. In addition, Uber has failed to obey the Supreme Court ruling in full which would protect workers or otherwise raise fares and pay in line with inflation of operating costs. This means that the drivers are more precarious than ever being exposed to the ravages of plummeting incomes and purchasing power.
ADCU members rallied outside the firm’s Aldgate Tower offices yesterday. Workers chanted, “Uber, Uber, you can’t hide. We can see your greedy side” and marched through the streets of east London.
The Union’s four demands:
- Minimum fares of £2.50 a mile or 20p a minute. Recent prices being offered in central London are historically low at £1.06 per mile and £0.10 per minute.
- Comply with recent court rulings that drivers are workers (not self-employed) and pay them at least minimum wage and holiday.
- End unfair dismissals. Drivers are often flagged for summary dismissal by automated means and are denied any proper due process of investigation, appeal or representation. This in turn can lead to licensing action by local licensing authorities and drivers having to explain why they were fired with Uber often failing to even disclose the reasons.
- Obey the UK GDPR and provide full algorithmic transparency, so drivers understand how they have been profiled, performance managed and on what basis they have been either allocated work or had it withheld.
Abdurzak Hadi, ADCU London Chair, said: “Uber drivers have never been worse off than they are right now. I implore the government to dismiss the Uber spin and urgently intervene to enforce the law against what is an increasingly out of control company.”
