UberEats London drivers plan strike over pay （574 words）

By Madhumita Murgia

Hundreds of drivers for UberEats, Uber's food delivery service, plan to take to London's streets on Friday in strike action over low pay, as unrest among workers in the “on-demand” economy grows.

The UberEats protest follows similar action over pay rates by workers at Deliveroo, a rival food-delivery service in the capital.

The UberEats demonstration was announced via Facebook by trade union United Voices of the World Union. It said it had helped to organise the “wildcat strike” along with the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain and Deliveroo workers to protest over low wages and not being classed as employees.

“UberEats drivers are going on strike over their poverty wages,” said the UVWU. “No employee status, no obligation.”

At Uber's takeaway service, which launched in London just last month, couriers could earn roughly ￡9 an hour, according to the company, which added that many workers had made more than that in the past week.

“So far this week, couriers delivering lunch and dinner have made over 10 per cent more an hour than they did in the same period last week,” said Alex Czarnecki, general manager of UberEats London. “We don't set shifts, minimum hours or delivery zones — couriers can simply log in or out when and where they choose. This is why we've seen hundreds of new couriers sign up in the last week alone.”

Drivers claim, however, that they have ended up with as little as ￡9 after a full day's work, according to Petros Elias, UVW general secretary. He cited the example of one driver who had been on call all day but had been allocated only one delivery, meaning he received just ￡9 for a day's work.

“They were certainly inspired by Deliveroo drivers,” Mr Elias said. “After Uber's pre-launch recruitment drive, [it] recently went and slashed all the pay rates. It's an absolute disgrace.”

The union added that pay rates had been cut from ￡20 an hour to ￡3.30 per delivery.

UberEats said pay rates had fallen but that was because it had cut recruitment incentives. “While we were building up customer demand for UberEats, these incentives were very generous. As the business grows and couriers get busier, the need for these extra incentives has decreased.

“However, since we made the change last weekend, couriers have actually made over 10 per cent more an hour.”

It added that drivers were still paid if deliveries are cancelled.

The dissatisfaction among independent contractors employed by online platforms such as Uber and Deliveroo has risen sharply in recent months.

Last week, Deliveroo drivers held a series of demonstrations against a new payment structure, which could result in lower wages for workers. Deliveroo pays drivers ￡7 an hour plus ￡1 a delivery but has launched a trial of a new structure that pays ￡3.75 per delivery. Workers have said they want to be paid ￡9.40 an hour — the London living wage.

Deliveroo said the new pay scale could increase wages for those who are most efficient. It added that the day of the strikes was also the busiest in the company's history for signing up new recruits in London.

Uber is also facing first-time legal action from two drivers for its car-hailing service in the UK, who say they should be classed as workers rather than contractors and given basic employment rights, including holiday pay. If the drivers win the closely watched case, thousands more could lodge claims

請根據你所讀到的文章內容，完成以下自測題目：

1．Why do the UberEats' drivers plan to go on strike?

A．bad welfare

B．low pay

C．insufficient break time

D．long working time

答案

2．Where did UberEats announce the demonstration?

A．Facebook

B．Instagram

C．Twitter

D．Linkedin

答案

3．How much do the couriers make more than they did last week?

A．8 per cent more

B．9 per cent more

C．10 per cent more

D．15 per cent more

答案

4．What is the London living wage?

A．￡8 an hour

B．￡9.40 an hour

C．￡10.75 an hour

D．￡11 an hour

答案