DAY OF ACTION: Uber drivers begin nationwide blackout over their treatment from the firm
The App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) are staging a 24-hour strike for Uber drivers with demonstrations organised at Uber offices in eight UK cities today.
Strikes and protests are set to be staged in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow which started at 12am (28 September) and will run until midnight.
Officials from the ADCU have urged Uber drivers nationwide to not log on to the app during the strike. Passengers are likewise being asked to support the strike by not crossing the digital picket line to book the service. The strike action is based on three key points of dispute:
Uber’s reported failure to implement the Supreme Court ruling and pay waiting time which makes up around 40% of an Uber driver’s working time.
The introduction of fixed price fares and the reported abandonment of variable fares which were based on actual time and distance travelled. The union claims this has led to reduced driver incomes and greater financial risk.
Unfair dismissals without recourse.
On the back of these disputes the union is making three key demands of Uber to immediately remedy the situation:
Uber to pay all working time including waiting time and respect the Supreme Court ruling.
An end to up front pricing, an increase of fares from £1.25 per mile to £2.00 per mile and for Uber to reduce its commission take from 25% to 15%.
An end to unfair dismissals without right of appeal. Uber must also withdraw the use of the so-called Real Time ID surveillance and facial recognition system.
Yaseen Aslam, ADCU President, said: “It is shameful that Uber continues to defy the highest court in the land to cheat 70,000 workers out of pay for 40% of their true working time. “The drivers know they deserve and are legally entitled to much more than Uber is offering. Uber’s offer to set up a cross app common pension scheme just proves that it must also be possible for these companies to apportion and pay driver waiting time between them. This strike is just the beginning and there will be much more unrest until Uber does the right thing and pay drivers all that they are owed, both pension contributions and working time.” James Farrar, General Secretary, said: "Uber has continued to intensify its use of junk surveillance tech and algorithmic management control to maximize profits. The results have been catastrophic with hundreds of people unfairly dismissed and accused of unspecified ‘fraudulent activity’. Instead of trying to gag unions from exposing the flaws in their tech, Uber should instead guarantee all drivers protection from unfair dismissal and the right to access a proper, human led appeals process.”
