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Uber’s 20,000 driver recruitment push will create more industry poverty says App Drivers Union
Uber’s 20,000 post pandemic recruitment push will result in increased driver poverty and city congestion, according to the App Driver & Courier Union (ADCU).
Uber has today announced that it will recruit a further 20,000 drivers by the end of the year, but according to the ADCU, the ride-hailing firm is taking advantage of a “soft post pandemic labour market & weakened competition to further consolidate its monopoly position in the private hire market“.
The union says Uber has already used the cover of the pandemic to introduce far more risk and reduced marginal income for drivers by changing its pricing model from fares that were calculated based on actual time and distance to a fixed price model.
This means that the driver will be paid the same amount regardless of route or traffic conditions which the ADCU believes will push already beleaguered drivers to rush and cut corners. As normal traffic returns to the cities after the pandemic, driver earnings per trip will inevitably decline, say the union.
A spokesperson for ADCU said: “Uber is taking advantage of an expected increase in post pandemic unemployment to draw more people into the gig economy and into precarity while it profits.
“This recruitment drive is only made possible by Uber’s refusal to obey the Supreme Court ruling and pay drivers for all working time from log on to log off. Instead, Uber only intends to observe driver worker rights for the period from dispatch to drop off which means that waiting time remains unpaid which currently constitutes about 40-50% of working time.“
Yaseen Aslam, President of the App Drivers & Couriers Union, said: “Uber’s post pandemic recruitment push will inevitably lead to increased driver poverty and rising urban congestion. They can easily afford to recruit an extra 20,000 people simply because it continues to rely on an illegal and exploitative employment model which allows them to strengthen their monopolistic position while driving more workers into poverty.
“We urgently need capacity controls and enforcement of employment law, but the government has abdicated its fundamental responsibilities. Our union will continue to resist Uber’s brutal exploitation of people and communities.”
But not all unions representing drivers who work for Uber agree that the recruitment drive is a bad thing.
Mick Rix, National Officer for the GMB Union, who represent a number of workers across the gig economy, said: “Uber is trying to signal the horrendous collapse of the private hire minicab sector brought about by the pandemic is coming to an end.
”Signing up another 20,000 drivers on top of the 70,000 already using the app is a positive indicator.
”Now Uber has committed to treating its workers fairly, granting them the rights to which they are legally entitled, this can only be good for the beleaguered private hire sector.”
