WANTED: drivers to work 90 hours a week for £4-5 per hour. No holiday pay. No sick pay. No rights.
That’s what an Uber driver job advert should say. Uber’s exploiting its workers, big time.
But a group of drivers along with the GMB Union just took Uber to court - and won! The law’s clear: Uber should give them sick pay, holiday pay and the minimum wage.
Uber’s holding out hope it can keep mistreating workers. But it’s license is up for renewal soon. Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, could right now publicly promise to revoke its license unless it treats workers properly. With so much business in London, Uber can’t ignore that.
Let’s build a huge petition together to show Sadiq Khan that we want him to take action on Uber. We’ve got a perfect chance to get Uber to pay properly, if we can persuade Sadiq Khan to use his power over its license as leverage.
Uber is using a loophole to strip drivers of their rights. It pretends drivers are self-employed contractors, not workers. It’s a con, and it’s unravelling.
Uber’s only thinking about its bottom line and appealing the legal decision. It will use all of its corporate power to resist fair wages and rights. But pressure’s mounting: there’s already driver protests on the streets of London. Right now, Uber’s on the backfoot.
No company is invulnerable to people power, no matter how big it is. Over 30,000 of us took Walmart to task for not having a proper sick pay policy. All of us just need to combine our strength again to push Uber over the brink, and get it to pay properly.
Sadiq Khan: promise to not renew Uber's license until it pays drivers properly and gives them their workers' rights.
More information
Uber drivers stage go-slow protest through central London
The Guardian. 22 November 2016.
The Guardian. 22 November 2016.
Uber loses right to classify UK drivers as self-employed
The Guardian. 28 October 2016.
The Guardian. 28 October 2016.