Uber drivers going on strike this week claim they’re ‘hanging by a thread’ after the company confirmed it takes nearly half of some fares.
Uber drivers going on strike this week claim they’re ‘hanging by a thread’ after the company confirmed it takes nearly half of some fares.
Drivers affiliated with the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) trade union plying their trade for taxi apps Uber, Bolt, and Addison Lee, will ‘log off’ for 24 hours from 7am on Thursday (May 1).
The ‘global strike’ includes cabbies in Manchester, who will protest in the city centre on Thursday afternoon. One Greater Manchester driver said he was striking because he is ‘struggling to pay my rent and support my family’.
“Between 4am and 2.30pm [one day this week] I made just £71,” said Cosmin, not his real name.
“Over £20 of that will go on fuel and insurance, without adding the cost of car maintenance overall. Uber shows customers a different price to the fee that we see from rides, and then they charge more than 25pc commission on our earnings.
“I’ve seen it as high as 40pc sometimes. Uber tells us not to discuss the price of rides and our pay with customers, but it’s all I can think about.”
Nader Awaad, Chair of the IWGB Private Hire Drivers, added: “Drivers around the world today are not living but surviving – we’re hanging on by a thread.
“There are hidden epidemics of depression, chronic pain and broken relationships plaguing the workforce, because of unhealthily long hours spent on the road trying to scrape a living.”
Uber said drivers cannot work more than 10 hours at a time, and they are able to see their earnings breakdown, which they said will show weekly ‘take rates’ average between 20-30pc.
However the spokesperson did confirm the rates can be as high as 40pc on popular journeys, such as those to Manchester Airport where drivers are easy to source.
They added: “We regularly engage with drivers, especially through our industry-leading agreement with GMB Union, who are not taking part in this action.
“Uber is currently meeting with hundreds of drivers across the country to hear directly from them about how we can improve their experience on the platform.”
Uber also told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it has designated drivers as workers, the first company in the industry to do so. That means drivers are entitled to the national living wage, holiday pay, pension contributions, childcare vouchers, and sickness cover.
The strike action comes at a time when Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is calling for reforms of the taxi trade.
Earlier this month, he launched his ‘backing our taxis campaign’, calling on the government to introduce a new law to tackle out-of-area working.
The practice sees thousands of drivers registering with one council where licences are seen as easier to acquire, and plying their trade in another part of the country.
Other requests of the government include extending VAT exemptions on taxis adapted for disabled people, extending the plug-in taxi grant until March 2027, and reducing the rate of VAT on public electric vehicle charging to just five percent.
The first step in making the plans a reality is the launch of a 12-week-long ‘engagement exercise’, said Sara Todd, the chief executive of Trafford council, who is working with Mr Burnham on the plans.
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