Uber drivers came together in Bristol city centre to protest about their treatment by the company, before creating a go-slow convoy around the city centre.
Around 25 drivers gathered at Uber's Bristol headquarters, just off Stokes Croft in the city centre, to lobby the firm about pay, conditions and what they say are 'unfair dismissals' of drivers in the city.
Uber hit back, saying drivers are getting paid more now than they were before the pandemic, and pledging to continue to work with the drivers' union - who won a battle last year to get recognised by Uber.
As it happened: Uber drivers protest in Bristol city centre
The protest began at 11am in Upper York Road, which connects Stokes Croft with Brunswick Square on the St Pauls side of the A38. A couple of dozen drivers filled the street with their taxis and staged a loud and sometimes raucous protest with placards and posters, demanding better treatment from Uber.
"We're Uber drivers and we've been here on the platform for years - I've been here five years," said Asad Uzzaman, the organiser of the protest.
"The prices have been decreasing for the drivers. They keep lying to us. They've now hidden the cost that customers are paying - before if it was 25 per cent commission, and the customer was paying £10 we should be getting £7.50, but now we're getting £6, which is a lie according to our contracts. With the inflation of fuel prices, and everything going up, Uber fares are going down, so drivers are driving around for les than 50p a mile most of the times, but with the cost of the cars nowadays going up, with licensing authorities wanting newer and newer cars, more efficient cars and Clean Air Zones coming into Bristol, a lot of us do have to change our vehicles every so often, now we have to do a fitness test every six months - and with the expenses going up and affording these cars, it's not possible on 50p a mile," he added.
After an hour outside Uber's offices in Bristol, the drivers headed off in a convoy slowly down to The Centre and up Park Street and around the Clifton Triangle before returning back to Brunswick Square. "A lot of the drivers are complaining that they are getting unfair dismissals, so a lot of the times when you are ordering an Uber, people are hit with inflation with surge prices over the weekend are quite high," said Mr Uzzaman.
"If you're on a night out and you're having to pay £30 or £40 to get home, it is really high. But a lot of people are wanting a refund, and in order to do that, they'll create a fake story, to try to get a refund from Uber," he said, adding that Uber will block the account of a driver someone has complained about, but if that driver is cleared, there is no compensation for lost earnings.
"With a lot of drivers that have been blocked, it's taken five or six weeks to get back onto the platform, these guys are sat at home for five or six weeks earning nothing and with bills to pay. Uber is charging the customers a fair price, but they are just not transactioning that on to the drivers themselves. They are keeping a majority of the profit, which they claim is 25 per cent, but we've got proof that it's higher than that, it's around the 40-50 per cent mark," he added.
A year ago, Uber lost a key legal battle and were forced by the Supreme Court to recognise that its drivers were not contractors but employees, and were therefore entitled to holiday and sick pay and other rights as workers for Uber. Back in May 2021, Uber entered into a collective bargaining agreement with GMB union.
A spokesperson for Uber said: “We are always looking at how we can help drivers reduce their costs and maximise their earnings. All eligible drivers on Uber are also guaranteed at least the National Living Wage, holiday pay and access to a pension plan. This means drivers earn with greater security, helping them to plan for their futures while maintaining the flexibility that is integral to the private-hire industry."
The company also said it 'regularly engages with GMB union representatives to look at how it can improve driver experience'. The company says that all Uber drivers in the UK receive: At least the National Living Wage after accepting a trip request and after expenses. "This is a floor and not a ceiling, with drivers able to earn more."
The company also said it pays holiday time based on 12.07% of their earnings, paid out on a fortnightly basis. "So far we have paid out over £115m to drivers in holiday pay," Uber said, along with: "Automatic enrolment into a pension plan with contributions from Uber alongside driver contributions, setting drivers up over the long term; Continued free insurance in case of sickness or injury as well as parental payments, which have been in place for all drivers since 2018. These major changes that we announced last year were consistent with the Supreme Court ruling, which assessed Uber’s business in 2016 and based its decision on key features which have subsequently been removed.
"Driver earnings have increased significantly since the end of lockdown and compared to pre-pandemic levels," Uber claim. "This is because demand in some cities increased by 20-40% in some cities compared to 2019 levels. Drivers were recently earning £24.50 per hour in London, with similar levels across many cities across the UK," the company claimed.
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