Uber may have started to offer sickness and injury cover to its drivers in the UK – but the legal battles surrounding the company and the work conditions it offers show no sign of abating.
One of its strongest opponents has been the GMB, the union for private hire drivers, and earlier this morning it revealed it had started the process for legal action against Transport for London (TfL) to “ensure they force Uber to guarantee safe working practices and basic employment rights, like minimum wage and holiday pay.”
According to the union, Uber’s existing model means drivers work “excessive hours” and, as such, it has called on TfL to meet the following obligations:
- Limit and enforce maximum, daily, weekly and annual hours a driver is permitted to work in London.
- Limit the number of drivers permitted by Uber to work within London.
- Ensure Uber drivers in London are paid a minimum guaranteed income.
“We want to remind TFL of their obligations to all London transport users and not just to powerful lobbyists at Uber, and hope they will decide to impose the reasonable conditions we have requested to Ubers licence,” said Warren Kenny, GMB regional secretary for the London region.
“We have widespread evidence of a culture of excessive hours being driven by workers frequently being paid below the living wage as they try to make ends meet,” added Maria Ludkin, GMB legal director.
“We hope TFL will take their responsibilities as a transport regulator as seriously as the employment courts have when reviewing Uber’s practices and procedures.”
Where do you stand on the legal controversies surrounding Uber? Should the firm provide more rights to its employees or should it not be obligated to do so? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.
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