A union representing workers in the “concert economy” is asking Uber customers to join a 24-hour strike in response to Uber files, a series of revelations about the application of taxi transport published by the Guardian and its media partners.
The Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU) app invited Uber users to avoid using the service for a day on Wednesday and to join a demonstration at the company’s headquarters in London.
The ADCU is calling for an increase in the salaries and conditions of its drivers and measures to address the issues raised in Uber’s files.
A fund of more than 124,000 documents, leaked to The Guardian and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and International Media Partners, revealed last week how Uber broke laws, tricked police and he put secret pressure on governments.
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What are Uber files?
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Uber’s files are a global investigation based on a fund of 124,000 documents that Mark MacGann, Uber’s former chief lobbyist in Europe, the Middle East and Africa leaked to the Guardian. The data consists of emails, iMessages and WhatsApp exchanges among the Silicon Valley giant’s top executives, as well as notes, presentations, notebooks, informational documents and invoices.
The leaked records cover 40 countries and span from 2013 to 2017, the period in which Uber aggressively expanded around the world. They reveal how the company broke the law, tricked police and regulators, exploited violence against drivers and put secret pressure on governments around the world.
To facilitate a global investigation in the public interest, The Guardian shared the data with 180 journalists from 29 countries through the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The investigation was managed and directed by the Guardian with the ICIJ.
In a statement, Uber said, “We have not apologized or will make excuses for past behaviors that are clearly not in line with our current values. Instead, we ask the public to judge us for what we have done over the past five years. and what we will do in the coming years. “
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Uber has said it “will not give excuses for past behaviors that are clearly not in line with our current values. Instead, we ask the public to judge us for what we have done over the past five years and what we will do in the coming years.” “.
ADCU said Uber had not gone far enough, and questioned the company’s response to a historic Supreme Court ruling last year, which found drivers were not self-employed contractors but workers who were entitled to rights. such as the minimum wage and holiday pay.
The union said Uber interpreted that drivers’ working hours lasted from sending the taxi to leaving a customer. Instead, the period should include waiting times, which according to the ADCU accounted for up to 40% of drivers ’work period.
Rates should also be increased to £ 2.50 per mile and £ 20 per minute, with the Uber commission limited to 15%, the union said.
Uber files uncovered how the San Francisco-based company had access to top-tier politicians around the world as it pressed for regulatory changes to allow it to operate.
Do you have information about this story? Email investigations@theguardian.com
The ADCU said Uber continued to engage in significant “unfair” lobbying in the UK, including holding meetings with MPs.
Finally, the union called for the dismissal of Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, the head of Uber Eats’ food delivery service, whose involvement in the use of “death switches” and a controversial software called Greyball to deceive law enforcement was revealed to Uber. Files.
Gore-Coty told the Guardian that he had been “young and inexperienced and too often took the direction of superiors with questionable ethics.”
Uber has insisted it has changed for the better since the arrival of Dara Khosrowshahi as CEO in 2017 sparked a review of the company’s corporate culture.
James Farrar, general secretary of the ADCU, responded to the claim, saying the drivers “had no choice but to strike and take to the streets.”
An Uber spokesman said: “The ADCU represents a small proportion of active drivers at Uber. For more than a year now, the GMB union has served as the voice of drivers in the UK following our historic recognition that helped ensure new protections for workers, such as holiday pay and access to a pension plan.
“With rising demand after the pandemic, Uber drivers are earning more than ever: in the first quarter of 2022, they earned an average of £ 29.72 an hour, including holiday pay, when they were actively engaged in the application.
“The combination of higher income, new protections such as holiday pay and a pension and union recognition in the UK has led to more than 10,000 new drivers signing up for Uber in recent months.”