A trade union has called on Uber customers to support a 24-hour strike by workers following the publication of the ‘Uber Files’ earlier this month.

The App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU) is asking customers of the ride-hailing app to avoid using the service while workers stage demonstrations on Wednesday 20th July.

Customers have also been invited to join the demonstration outside the company’s London-based headquarters.

The union is currently demanding increased pay and better working conditions for drivers.

Last year, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers were workers and not self-employed freelancers, meaning they are entitled to a minimum wage and holiday pay. The decision marked the climax in a long-running dispute between staff and the company.

However, the ADCU claims Uber is failing to honour certain aspects of the ruling and refuses to comply with rulings to pay drivers minimum wage after costs. In addition, the union said the firm still refuses to pay drivers for a full working shift.

“Uber has chosen to observe worker status for the working time periods only from dispatch to drop off but excludes waiting time which leaves drivers short-changed for about 40% of their true working time,” the union said in a statement.

The ‘Uber Files’

In addition to pay disputes, the ADCU strike action also aims to cast a light on concerning details revealed by the ‘Uber Files’ leak earlier this month.

More than 120,000 leaked documents shared with investigative journalists revealed that the ride-hailing firm broke laws, deceived law enforcement and lobbied senior government officials in a host of countries worldwide.

The ADCU claims that Uber still engages in “rampant political lobbying and influencing” in the UK and raised concerns that the company’s relationship with politicians may harm workers.

“Given the government’s failure to actively enforce employment law against Uber, or to bring forward long promised employment legislation, the ADCU is greatly concerned that Uber’s access to power and intense lobbying has been a decisive factor in favour of Uber and against Uber drivers,” the union said.

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The ADCU has also called for the “immediate sacking” of Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty in the wake of the Uber Files revelations. According to the union, Gore-Coty presents a “threat to the safety of millions of workers” and the firm cannot claim to have changed while he remains a member of Uber’s leadership team.

Documents from the Uber Files leak revealed that Gore-Coty maintained a “playbook to fight enforcement” and deployed a controversial monitoring tool called ‘Heaven’ to identify and cancel bookings made by regulatory inspectors.

Reformed

Uber has repeatedly stated that the company “fundamentally changed” after the appointment of chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi in 2017.

In a statement responding to the Uber Files leak earlier this month, the company said Khosrowshahi’s arrival prompted a largescale overhaul of business practices.

“Dara rewrote the company’s values, revamped the leadership team, made safety a top company priority, implemented best-in-class corporate governance, hired an independent board chair, and installed the rigorous controls and compliance necessary to operate as a public company,” said Jill Hazelbaker, SVP of Marketing & Public Affairs.

However, ADCU President Yaseen Aslam disputed the claims and accused the firm of seeking to distract from continued nefarious practices.

“Uber is desperate to whitewash away the Uber Files revelations as sins of the distant past, but management behaviour is as egregious now as ever it was,” he said.

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