Uber drivers represented by the ADCU struck for 24 hours on Wednesday following the leak that exposed the extent of the company’s dodgy operations, writes Mark Baxendale

The App Drivers and Couriers Union staged a 24-hours strike on 20 July in the wake of the shocking UberFiles revelations. The ADCU asked drivers not to log onto the Uber app and for solidarity action by boycotting the platform. Uber attempted to break the strike by surging pay that day while offering discounts to customers, though it appeared this wasn’t particularly effective.  

Uber pays only for dispatch to drop off, which excludes waiting, leaving drivers unpaid for about 40% of their real working time. The union demands Uber follows the 2021 Supreme Court ruling that the corporation must pay the national living wage after costs from logging on to logging off.  

The drivers want the 36% fuel inflation of the last year considered in the calculation of their costs, that Uber commission is capped at 15%, and for the company to stop cheating them of back pay owed as a result of court ruling.  

Strikers rallied outside Uber HQ, Aldgate Tower. Speaker after speaker demanded Uber respect the Supreme Court ruling and the integrity of the regulatory bodies. Many were angry about the nefarious political influence exposed by UberLeaks. They called for the dismissal of Uber Executive Board member Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, a convicted criminal in France whose conduct has endangered drivers and passengers.