Those of you fanging for a lazy ride to work this morning might have found yourselves completely shit out of luck, thanks to a snap strike by Uber Drivers across the nation.
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The Ride Share Drivers Union spearheaded the industrial action, which saw thousands of drivers switching the app off this morning between 7:00am and 9:30am in protest of working and pay conditions imposed upon them by Uber overlords.
Crucially, the RSDU wants Uber to allow drivers to opt out of the recently-introduced UberPool service without penalty, whilst simultaneously calling for a 15% increase in the price of UberX.
The RSDU is also demanding the company returns to paying drivers for time and distance travelled, rather than the upfront pricing model currently being used.
A spokesperson for the union issued a statement in conjunction with the stop-work action this morning, stating that Uber’s pricing model comes purely at the expense of its fleet of drivers.
The issue we raise is countrywide and mostly in Melbourne and Sydney. You have a multinational corporation which is exploiting drivers and customers get cheap rides and that comes at the expense of drivers who take home less than minimum wage.
Uber never consults drivers. Uber needs to bring prices to sustainable levels.
In response, company officials asserted that drivers have plenty of pre-existing channels to contact them directly and air their concerns. The Union’s demands were not directly addressed in the statement issued to media.
The RSDU has demanded that Uber respond to their requests within 10 days, or more stop-work action will be taken, resulting in severe disruptions across the country.
Today’s strike covered drivers in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Hobart.
Normal service has since returned to both UberX and UberPool.
