Due to concerns about how the ride-sharing company treats drivers and delivery riders, one of Australia’s largest Christian churches has temporarily banned staff from using Uber and Uber Eats.
According to the Victoria and Tasmania Synod of the Uniting Church in Australia, Uber should only be used for work-related purposes when taxis and other ride-sharing apps aren’t available. It cited the treatment of drivers as independent contractors, which led to many of them earning less than the minimum wage and putting in a lot of overtime.
After dealing with complaints about how it treats drivers for years, Uber Technologies Inc. stated that it was “committed to improving standards for independent contractors in the gig economy.”
Uber’s treatment of drivers reached a breaking point in February of last year when the company was forced by a landmark UK Supreme Court decision to recognise a group of drivers as “workers,” giving them the right to a minimum wage, vacation pay, and other benefits.
Following similar allegations, Uber finally declared that it would apply the classification to all of its UK drivers.
Uber resolved claims that it had misled drivers about their potential earnings by agreeing to pay the Federal Trade Commission $20 million in January 2017.
On behalf of thousands of Uber drivers, a class action lawsuit was brought in 2017 with the claim that Uber’s “upfront prices” policy failed to give drivers the 80% of fares to which they were legally entitled. Each driver in the class received at least $20 as part of the $345,622 settlement.
Uber has been at the centre of several disputes. This covers both unethical commercial activities like disobeying local laws and undermining rival businesses.
It has also come under fire for how it handles complaints of workplace sexual harassment and racial discrimination.
Uber’s retention of customer data has also drawn criticism, particularly in light of how it handled data leaks.
Due to these problems, the company is no longer permitted to conduct business in some nations.
(With inputs from agencies)
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