It is not the first time that drivers have demonstrated in front of Uber’s headquarters.Photo: ANP/Michiel Wijnbergh
More than a hundred drivers who are affiliated with the FNV trade union will parade their cars through the A next Tuesday to Uber headquarters. The FNV members choose precisely that day, because the taxi platform will announce its annual figures the following day. At the same time, action is also being taken in England by Uber drivers.
According to Amrit Sewgobind, director of FNV Platformwerk, the drivers are more than fed up with the “unfair treatment”. “The measure is really full. The drivers are underpaid, Uber does not comply with judges’ rulings and drivers are blocked all the time. And if drivers want to discuss this with the management, Uber will not come up with anything concrete.”
Petition FNV has therefore started a petition to draw attention to the problems at Uber. The union demands, in addition to a fair income, that the blocking of drivers stops immediately. There must also be real participation and a telephone number must be made available for drivers with questions. “Now Uber holds ad-hoc meetings when it suits them. Moreover, not everyone is welcome there. The drivers have the right to co-determination, just like with other companies,” says Sewgobind.
The drivers also want access to their own data. According to FNV, data on the number of journeys and hours or earnings are currently not accessible. The union wants the data for the entire period that the drivers drive for Uber to be made available in an easy and fast manner. FNV also demands that the Uber head of Europe, Maurits Schönfeld, come out himself on Tuesday to receive the demands. “If he doesn’t, or Uber doesn’t take the demands seriously, more and tougher actions will follow,” the FNV director threatens.
Defeat FNV has been fighting Uber for years. The union does this because, according to them, the drivers are not treated as real self-employed persons, but the taxi platform does not employ them and pays the collective wages. “So Uber eats both ways,” says Sewgobind.
In addition, FNV has won a lawsuit in which the judge determined that the drivers are employed by Uber. However, the appeal in that case is still pending. Until then, Uber does not have to comply with the court’s ruling. But also in other lawsuits, both national and international, Uber lost, according to FNV. “Everything indicates that Uber will eventually lose out and have to give the drivers what they are entitled to according to the law and collective labor agreement. They then receive a fair wage (also regarding the waiting time) and certainty of continued payment in the event of illness, disability and days off,” concludes Sewgobind.
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