Ride-hailing app Uber has reached an agreement with the UK’s GMB union allowing it to represent the firm’s UK drivers. The agreement comes after February’s ruling by the Supreme Court that Uber’s UK drivers are workers, rather than self-employed contractors as the company had long claimed.
The deal, which will enable Uber drivers to sign up for collective bargaining, represents the first of its kind between a gig economy ride-hailing firm and a union. However, the deal does not apply to the UK’s approximately 30,000 drivers who work for the company’s food delivery service Uber Eats.
The new deal will mean that GMB can access Uber drivers’ meeting hubs to provide support and enables the union to represent drivers in the event of them losing access to Uber’s app. GMB will also meet with Uber’s management on a quarterly basis in order to discuss concerns raised by drivers.
GMB National Officer Mick Rix said: “This groundbreaking deal between GMB and Uber could be the first step to a fairer working life for millions of people. History has been made. This agreement shows gig economy companies don’t have to be a wild west on the untamed frontier of employment rights.”
“When tech private hire companies and unions work together like this, everyone benefits – bringing dignified, secure employment back to the world of work. We now call on all other operators to follow suit.”
However, despite the deal with GMB and the Supreme Court ruling that Uber’s drivers are entitled to minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions, the company has so far overlooked the Supreme Court’s decision that drivers must be paid from the moment they log into the app.
Currently, Uber drivers only earn minimum wage during times when they are assigned to a customer ride. Such ongoing issues have prompted the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) to say that it will not sign a deal with Uber.
