Uber drivers can now unionise after ride biz recognises GMB, one of the UK's largest trade unions
(2021/05/28)
- Reference: 1622179688
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/05/28/uber_gmb_union/
- Source link:
Uber has officially recognized the trade union GMB, clearing the way for as many as 70,000 Uber drivers in the UK to collectively bargain for higher wages and better working conditions.
GMB has fought the ride-hailing app for years, and supported a legal fight that resulted in the UK Supreme Court declaring in February that Uber's [1]drivers are workers and not self-employed contractors.
“History has been made,” GMB’s National Officer Mick Rix [2]said this week. “This ground-breaking deal between GMB and Uber could be the first step to a fairer working life for millions of people.”
[3]
[4]
[5]
This essentially means Uber's workers in the UK can unionize and be represented by GMB. The deal doesn't cover workers for Uber Eats.
What benefits and remuneration those union members will have, however, remains to be seen. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Uber said it will pay its drivers at least the minimum wage, with caveats, and offer them set holidays and a pension. They will also get free insurance to cover any work-related illnesses or injuries.
Still, its drivers can join the GMB and bargain for more. For example, the union wants to be able to support drivers that have been deactivated by Uber and barred from its driver app. It will meet with execs from the company to discuss issues every quarter.
[6]UK Supreme Court declares Uber drivers are workers, not self-employed: Ride biz's legal battle ends in a crash
[7]Following Supreme Court ruling, Uber UK recognizes drivers as workers, offers min wage, holiday pay, pension
[8]DoorDash delivery drivers try to manipulate the food biz's payment algorithm to earn a living wage in gig economy
[9]Twitter nukes AI-generated twits who backed Amazon and pushed anti-union rhetoric
“Whilst Uber and GMB may not seem like obvious allies, we’ve always agreed that drivers must come first, and today we have struck this important deal to improve workers’ protections,” said Jamie Heywood, Uber's Regional General Manager for Northern and Eastern Europe.
“Under the terms of this deal, Uber will now formally recognise GMB. Drivers won’t automatically become members and, for GMB representation, will have to sign up through the usual channels.”
[10]
Other unions, such as the smaller App Drivers & Couriers Union (ACDU), however, aren’t convinced recognition is good enough. “At this time ADCU is not prepared to enter into a recognition agreement with Uber,” Yaseen Aslam and James Farrar, President and General Secretary, respectively, of the ACDU, who are the lead claimants in the Uber Supreme Court case, [11]said .
“This is because Uber continues to violate basic employment law such as the right to minimum wage and holiday for all working time despite the recent UK Supreme Court ruling found in our favour.” The ACDU believes drivers should be paid for their time in between rides, such as when finding new passengers to pick up. Uber just wants to pay drivers for the time when they are ferrying people from A to B.
The pair said Uber is still fighting against the Supreme Court ruling, too. “Recently, Uber applied for declaratory relief from the High Court that its business model was not in violation of transport regulations despite commentary suggesting the opposite by Lord Leggatt in the Supreme Court ruling. We intend to intervene in this case to defend our Supreme Court victory.”
[12]
The Register has asked Uber for comment.
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/20/uk_court_uber/
[2] https://www.gmb.org.uk/news/uber-and-gmb-strike-historic-union-deal-70000-uk-drivers
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YLC-QLpKBuEad@4YmqiFZwAAAJM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YLC-QLpKBuEad@4YmqiFZwAAAJM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YLC-QLpKBuEad@4YmqiFZwAAAJM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/20/uk_court_uber/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/17/uber_uk_drivers_workers/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/07/doordash_drivers_rebel/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/06/in_brief_ai/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YLC-QLpKBuEad@4YmqiFZwAAAJM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.adcu.org.uk/news-posts/uber-gmb-union
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YLC-QLpKBuEad@4YmqiFZwAAAJM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
GMB has fought the ride-hailing app for years, and supported a legal fight that resulted in the UK Supreme Court declaring in February that Uber's [1]drivers are workers and not self-employed contractors.
“History has been made,” GMB’s National Officer Mick Rix [2]said this week. “This ground-breaking deal between GMB and Uber could be the first step to a fairer working life for millions of people.”
[3]
[4]
[5]
This essentially means Uber's workers in the UK can unionize and be represented by GMB. The deal doesn't cover workers for Uber Eats.
What benefits and remuneration those union members will have, however, remains to be seen. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Uber said it will pay its drivers at least the minimum wage, with caveats, and offer them set holidays and a pension. They will also get free insurance to cover any work-related illnesses or injuries.
Still, its drivers can join the GMB and bargain for more. For example, the union wants to be able to support drivers that have been deactivated by Uber and barred from its driver app. It will meet with execs from the company to discuss issues every quarter.
[6]UK Supreme Court declares Uber drivers are workers, not self-employed: Ride biz's legal battle ends in a crash
[7]Following Supreme Court ruling, Uber UK recognizes drivers as workers, offers min wage, holiday pay, pension
[8]DoorDash delivery drivers try to manipulate the food biz's payment algorithm to earn a living wage in gig economy
[9]Twitter nukes AI-generated twits who backed Amazon and pushed anti-union rhetoric
“Whilst Uber and GMB may not seem like obvious allies, we’ve always agreed that drivers must come first, and today we have struck this important deal to improve workers’ protections,” said Jamie Heywood, Uber's Regional General Manager for Northern and Eastern Europe.
“Under the terms of this deal, Uber will now formally recognise GMB. Drivers won’t automatically become members and, for GMB representation, will have to sign up through the usual channels.”
[10]
Other unions, such as the smaller App Drivers & Couriers Union (ACDU), however, aren’t convinced recognition is good enough. “At this time ADCU is not prepared to enter into a recognition agreement with Uber,” Yaseen Aslam and James Farrar, President and General Secretary, respectively, of the ACDU, who are the lead claimants in the Uber Supreme Court case, [11]said .
“This is because Uber continues to violate basic employment law such as the right to minimum wage and holiday for all working time despite the recent UK Supreme Court ruling found in our favour.” The ACDU believes drivers should be paid for their time in between rides, such as when finding new passengers to pick up. Uber just wants to pay drivers for the time when they are ferrying people from A to B.
The pair said Uber is still fighting against the Supreme Court ruling, too. “Recently, Uber applied for declaratory relief from the High Court that its business model was not in violation of transport regulations despite commentary suggesting the opposite by Lord Leggatt in the Supreme Court ruling. We intend to intervene in this case to defend our Supreme Court victory.”
[12]
The Register has asked Uber for comment.
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/20/uk_court_uber/
[2] https://www.gmb.org.uk/news/uber-and-gmb-strike-historic-union-deal-70000-uk-drivers
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YLC-QLpKBuEad@4YmqiFZwAAAJM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YLC-QLpKBuEad@4YmqiFZwAAAJM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YLC-QLpKBuEad@4YmqiFZwAAAJM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/20/uk_court_uber/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/17/uber_uk_drivers_workers/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/07/doordash_drivers_rebel/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/06/in_brief_ai/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YLC-QLpKBuEad@4YmqiFZwAAAJM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.adcu.org.uk/news-posts/uber-gmb-union
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YLC-QLpKBuEad@4YmqiFZwAAAJM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: The IT connection?
Dabooka
FFS at least use the icon
Re: The IT connection?
Kane
"Saw reference to the Uber app, but that's all."
More importantly, where's the Paris Hilton angle?
SundogUK
Well that's Uber done for then. And all those drivers who loved the flexible approach to working with them.
Sound of a very very small violin
Anonymous Coward
Uber et al are essentially cuckoos - parasitically exploiting society. They rely on the desperation of workers in a post-industrial insecure labour market, which is bad enough, but they also expect the taxpayer to make up the difference in their poverty wages, and to build the roads they drive on and maintain the infrastructure of the internet that enables them. And the proportion of 'I drive because I like the flexibility' to 'I lost my job and this was all i could find' is about the same as 'I was born in poverty and am a self made millionaire' to 'Daddy sent me to Eton and I got a job in Uncles' hedge fund'
TheMeerkat
Someone is going to pay for it.
If the cost is put on customer, there will be less rides and some of the Uber workers will lose their jobs as less people will use Uber.
Or it will decrease the money the driver receives per each ride to pay for not ride-related benefits.
Phil O'Sophical
But all the GMB shop stewards will get free Uber rides.
Aladdin Sane
Fewer
The IT connection?
Saw reference to the Uber app, but that's all.