TWU URGES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ADOPT NEW YORK REGULATION ON RIDE-SHARE APPS

Ride-share services such as Uber, Lyft, Ola and Taxify will also have to report details about the company commission in ride prices and what cut the driver gets, according to bills passed by New York City Council yesterday.

“Ride-share drivers deserve rights and now we have a blueprint on how to achieve those rights. The Federal Government is choosing not to protect ride-share drivers who are being exploited through poverty rates, no protections against injury or illness and no right to challenge when they are unfairly sacked. If they are physically or sexually assaulted they must take time off to recover without being paid. This Government has chosen to take the side of rich global tech billionaires over hard-working transport workers in Australia,” said TWU National Secretary Tony Sheldon.

The New York move follows a court judgement in Seattle in 2015 which ruled that ride-share drivers had the right to collectively bargain and form a trade union. The decision is being challenged however by an alliance between Uber, the US Chamber of Commerce and the Trump administration.

“The tech billionaires are gaining a foothold in our society, introducing eighteenth century working conditions via an app. It is up to us to decide if we want to regulate this and ensure rights and protections or whether we want to allow the Trumpisation of our community,” Sheldon added.