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ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED IN ONE PLACE
Learn more about news, legislation, and court cases in the platform economy globally.
Dear reader,
Here are three interesting issues we want to share with you from the last two weeks.
First, Kirsten Korosec, a journalist for TechCrunch, analyzed Uber's recent moves toward the United States 'traditional' taxi industry: “When Uber launched its ride-hailing service, the company was more pariah than partner to the taxi industry. Some 12 years later, it seems to be the latter.”
Korosec commented on the partnership between the ride-hailing giant and Los Angeles Yellow Cab allowing taxi drivers to “access Uber trip referrals in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties.”
We had no doubt that “money is at the center.” However, even though Uber was launched to disrupt the taxi industry, it must keep growing and add drivers to its fleet.
“The company has said that, by 2025, it hopes to list every taxi in the world on its app. And for once, taxi owners are eager to be involved,” Andrew J. Hawkins underlined on The Verge.
Drivers in San Francisco benefited from using apps like Uber. However, is it a win-win for the company and the taxi owners, as Uber wants us to believe? Well, Hawkins explained that “some of Uber’s biggest costs are around insurance and liability. Offloading a percentage of its trips to taxi drivers can reduce those costs while also increasing revenue.”
So yes, when it comes to Uber, it is always best to be realistic.
On 28 and 29 September, European trade unions met in Madrid for the second Trade Union Forum on Platform Work.
In his account of his participation in the event, Nicola Quondamatteo from the Jacobin highlighted a few points: the need to extend the sector regulation to categories of workers other than riders, including cleaning professionals; the decisive role of migration in the growth of the workforce on platforms; the tortuous path that Just Eat is facing in the transition from self-employment to employment; the difficulty gig workers themselves often face in accessing best practices and virtuous projects.
“The renewal of trade union organizations will be decisive,” he concluded.
With James Farrar, founder of Worker Info Exchange, we discussed the gig workers’s right to access data in this interview for our podcast.
If you are interested in this topic, we recommend two other insights: first, an article by Francesca Bria on the Guardian delving into the rise of new “algorithmic bosses,” “responsible for automating tasks such as hiring, assigning tasks, determining salaries and even layoffs.” How can they boost efficiency by increasing surveillance, gender and class inequalities, or the progressive loss of the right to access the data produced by workers?
Bria also mentioned the most famous cases in which workers and unions took the algorithms to court, their demand for transparency, and why there is still a “disconnection” between the EU's current legislation and the protection of workers’ rights: “Neither the AI Act nor a proposed directive on platform work explicitly considers the impact of algorithms on working conditions,” she outpointed.
Secondly, a recent ETUI report scrutinizes how the algorithmic management systems used by Glovo-Foodinho control its workforce.
Some key points: in 2021, Foodinho was fined for failing to protect the digital rights of its workers. (By the way, do fines work with companies like Glovo?)
Today, after five years of research, a group of experts reveals that the Glovo app tracked riders’ locations, even outside their working hours, and shared this information with third parties.
The research represents a great result, which underlines the role of technical experts in detecting violations of workers’ rights and the need to get more people involved: data protection authorities should simplify the complaint procedures, while trade unions could allow the same method to be replicated among other workers.
As is often the case, it should be a team game to have even more appreciable results.
We hope to receive good news in this regard soon.
Meanwhile, something has moved in Spain: the Labour Inspectorate has opened a new labour investigation against Glovo for allegedly violating its workers' privacy.
Have a nice day,
The WageIndicator Gig Team
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“We believe that, by helping workers understand the apps that control them, we can give them the key to unlock their rights and build a fairer future of work for all.”
(The authors of Exercising Workers' Rights in Algorithmic Management Systems")
Brazil - A regional labour court sentenced Rappi to hire all the drivers who worked for the platform for at least six months between 2017 and 2023 and pay an indemnity equivalent to 1 percent of the 2022 revenue.
Colombia - The Supreme Court of Justice ruled that Uber can continue operating in the country.
France - Almost 2,500 taxi drivers sued Uber, accusing the platform of unfair competition. By treating them as independent contractors, they claimed that the company has caused each driver to lose an average of 9,300 euros per year. In 2020, France’s Supreme Court ruled that a former driver’s freelance status was “unsubstantial”.
India - The Rajasthan Chief Minister announced a one-time payment of 5,000 rupees to gig workers upon registration, but the framing of rules for the Platform Based Gig Workers Act, 2023, is still under process.
Kenya - The National Transport and Safety Authority has declined to renew the license of taxi-hailing company Bolt, citing mounting complaints from drivers about alleged non-compliance and violation of regulations.
UK - Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats delivery workers staged a strike in Oxford city center, calling for better wages and protections for riders.US - The Chicago Gig Alliance denounced nearly 10,000 workers being deactivated since 2020.
Argentina - Only the vehicles licensed by the municipalities - and regularly taxed - are authorized to transport passengers: the provincial authorities of Catamarca made it clear that no legal framework allows Uber or similar platforms to operate.
Did you know? The Cordoba City Council approved an increase in fines against those who provide or offer transport services without the proper municipal authorization.
Canada - To impact emissions, congestion, and public transit, the Toronto City Council voted to temporarily cap the number of licenses for drivers working for companies like Uber and Lyft. It’s difficult to know what the exact effects will be.
The Council is also considering a plan to mandate zero-emission vehicles to taxi and ride-hailing drivers in 2030. Still, workers’ associations warned that these efforts would fail as long as the sector remains precarious.
Insight: How do Uber drivers actually earn in Toronto?
Costa Rica - The government is waiting for proposals from platforms to prepare a regulatory text to be presented to the Legislative Assembly.
India
- The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union urged the Government to pass a social security bill for the platform workers in the state similar to the one recently introduced by the Rajasthan Government.
- Karnataka Transport Minister Ramlinga Reddy has clarified that carpooling in Bengaluru is not banned, but these apps must obtain the necessary licenses to operate legally.
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“Ride-share and delivery fee prices across the country could increase by 60 percent and 85 percent, respectively.”
(Uber Australia preannounces higher prices if reforms are approved to provide a pay floor to gig workers.)
India
- Delivery startup Dunzo has, according to a report, again delayed the pending salaries of former employees and informed the ex-staffers that these will now be credited only by January or February next year.
- Uber is expanding its ‘Uber Connect’ service, allowing users to schedule a courier to pick up their packages.
- Ride-hailing platform Ola has launched an all-electric on-demand delivery service in Bengaluru.
- In a year, the Zomato stock has risen 64.79 percent and climbed 79.42 percent in 2023.
- After Zomato, delivery platform Swiggy has hiked the platform fee on food delivery orders to 3 rupees from 2, indicating that it could rise further.
Singapore - Grab plans to acquire Trans-cab, the third-largest taxi operator in Singapore. However, the Competition and Consumer Commission raised concerns about fair competition.
Spain - TaxiCoin, a new taxi service app, has started providing services in Madrid to compete with Uber and Cabify.
The Netherlands - Getir users in Amsterdam and seven other towns can now have groceries delivered on-demand via the Uber Eats app.
UK - Just Eat Takeaway is about to launch a talking “AI assistant” by early November to help users directly order a meal or groceries, respond to queries about dishes, and offer personalized recommendations based on previous orders and reviews.
US - Uber will offer customers the option to request a courier to return packages on their behalf.
India
- Riders affiliated with Swiggy have launched an "indefinite strike" in Mumbai, seeking higher payout and improved working conditions.
- Around 300 Ola and Uber drivers protested in Pune against the low per-kilometer remuneration paid by these aggregator companies.
- Ola and Uber car drivers in Chennai announced a two-day strike.
Italy - Deliveroo and Glovo riders in Milan refused to deliver orders for an entire day to protest their unstable earnings, unpaid work, and the algorithms forcing them to long shifts.
South Africa - Ride-hailing drivers, headed by the e-Hailing Partners Council, protested in Gauteng against high platform commissions and low rates.
Spain - Glovo riders from Roquetas de Mar went on strike as a reaction to their decreasing pay, despite an agreement with the company reached a year ago.
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“Currently, African unions do not have the capacity to take on companies like Uber. They are still far away.”
(Shane Choshane, researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa)