Photo: ANP
FNV and Uber will face each other again Thursday in court over hiring drivers through the taxi app. The union believes that Uber is still not complying with the commitment announced by the judge in September, and said on Tuesday it would demand a fine of 100,000 euros per day. Uber believes the CLA is causing problems and wants to delay implementation until after the appeal is completed.
Last fall, a judge ruled in favor of FNV that Uber is an employer. So the US company must hire and pay its drivers in accordance with the Health Care Services and Taxi Collective Labor Agreement. Uber still doesn’t, FNV says. “Since the ruling, Uber has done nothing to comply with it. They are actually keeping everyone on the line and putting pressure on the parties to the collective labor agreement and even the ministry to get out of the collective agreement,” said union vice president Zakaria Buffengasha.
Uber, in turn, believes that the collective labor agreement for health transportation and taxis is not appropriate for independent drivers. For example, it won’t take into account drivers’ own vehicle ownership, but it’s also difficult to accommodate things like working on different platforms and at a location, the company believes. In addition, Uber still states that the majority of its drivers do not want to be employed by the company. A number of drivers have now joined the work.
In several countries, Uber has lost lawsuits over how independent drivers really are. In the UK, some sort of intermediate form between permanent employment and a self-employment job was finally found. In the Netherlands, Uber might also see something like this as a solution, although its collective labor agreement could work as well, according to the company.
Uber also wants a judge to decide that hiring drivers is not necessary at this time. This would turn drivers’ lives upside down and cost the company, while Uber could also win appeal, the taxi provider says. However, that should only happen between now and mid-2023, Uber estimates.
