Uber to give UK drivers workers’ rights after court loss
Reuters, LONDON
In a major victory for unions, Uber Technologies Inc’s more than 70,000 British drivers are to be paid the minimum wage while picking up and driving passengers as part of the ride-hailing company’s agreement to grant workers’ rights after it lost a groundbreaking British Supreme Court case last month.
Uber has pushed back against European and US labor advocates’ demands for better driver compensation with some success, calling for a “third way” of combining flexible on-demand work with more limited benefits than traditional employees receive.
The agreement in the UK classifies Uber drivers as workers who are entitled to fewer rights than those classed as employees, who are also guaranteed sick pay and parental leave.
To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog:
Uber will officially classify its British drivers, all 70,000 of them, as “workers” following a “major legal defeat” for the ride-hailing company in the British Supreme Court last month. The move entitles the drivers to “a minimum wage, vacation pay and access to a pension plan” and marks the “first time the company has agreed to classify its drivers in this way” - NYTimes and WSJ and MarketWatch and TechCrunch
Decision day for the Fed, which wraps its March FOMC meeting this afternoon - Bloomberg and NYTimes and WSJ
Hillicon Valley: Google ad report reveal | SolarWind fallout raises pressure on Biden msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Image
The federal bailouts sought by C.E.O.s like Doug Parker of American Airlines saved jobs but at a high cost.Credit.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Socializing losses, privatizing gains
Major U.S. airlines have received more than $50 billion in grants in multiple rounds of taxpayer-funded bailouts during the pandemic. As travel begins to rebound and the stock market cruises to record highs, Andrew asks in his latest column: Was the rescue worth it?
The good news: The bailouts probably saved as many as 75,000 jobs and kept the airlines from declaring bankruptcy.
The bad news: Taxpayers probably overpaid, with the original grant of $25 billion implying that each job cost the equivalent of more than $300,000. (That price grew with subsequent bailouts.)
In a first, Uber agrees to classify British drivers as workers bdnews24.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bdnews24.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.