”Instead of coming to defend their profession, they prefer to try to do a few rides”. -Uber driver
Today, on the 21st of November, at 6 am, the Uber drivers of Nice started to gather in the airport, in Terminal 1, in order to protest against the heavy commissions that are being imposed on them, without any warning from the platform.
Unexpectedly though, the atmosphere was quite heavy, since only around 30 people showed up for the strike.
Why they are striking
The reason for this protest is the sudden rise of Uber’s commission. Up until now, the commission that the platform kept from the drivers was stable: 25%. Now it can vary from 3% to 45%. But what’s the parameter for this?
Sabrina Sabena in an exclusive interview
Sabrina Sabena, president of the VTC 06–83 union, explained to us that the commission depends on the ride. For example, if a student opens the Uber app, the app will immediately know their profile and their age and will propose a cheaper ride.
A ride from the airport to Nice will cost them around 12–16 euros. Since this is not considered a “good ride”, the commission will vary from 10% to 15%. Now, if a client is American, for example, and arrives in Nice, when they open the app, Uber will filter their profile and propose a much more expensive ride. The ride from the airport to Nice will suddenly cost 60 euros and the commission will rise to 45%.
Discrimination of people using the app
”You see where the scam is? So now we’re going to rob people. Under the pretense that they have money, we’re going to rob them. Where are we going? That’s not normal for the drivers or the passengers. Under the pretense that hey I’m making a living, I’m working, I’m going to have to pay more. And in the end, we make the client pay more, but not so the driver earns more money, but for the platform to take more” -Sabrina Sabena
The source of the problem
According to Sabena, the most abhorrent part is that this commission will not be taken into account when it’s time to do their taxes. Since the drivers are considered self employed by the state, this commission is not recognizable.
So, for example, during high season an Uber driver can work up to 60 hours per week and his salary can go up to 5 or 6 thousand per month. Now after the commissions, he will be left with maybe 4 thousand, without taking into account the car expenses, insurance, maintenance, and gas. At the end of the month, what actually ends up in their pocket is under 3 thousand euros.
But, when the tax season will come, they won’t pay taxes on the 3 thousand per month that they actually made, but the 6 thousand the state thinks they are making.
Excessive work but in the end the pockets remain empty
”During high season we work up to 60 hours per week, sacrificing our time and families to make a living and in the end, we make less than any other private sector would working these hours. But we do it, because currently in winter, I assure you there are days I don’t make fifty-sixty euros a day.” — Uber Driver who prefers to remain anonymous.
To avoid these commissions, some drivers claimed that they are trying to give private rides as much as possible. But, when asked if they are planning to leave, they simply explained that it was not possible.
The reason they are held hostage by the app
”For now it’s just Uber, but if we try to switch to Bolt, they will do the same thing. They already said they would.” — another Uber Driver told us
To add to that, due to the unbearable cost, they do not have the option to become taxi drivers, since a taxi driver license costs around 400 thousand euros. At the same time, the Uber driver training can cost as low as 20 euros.
”What the platforms are doing is simply suffocating us. That’s all they want, to kill us in the end, except that without us they are nothing.” -Uber Driver states in our interview
For now, in the face of these struggles, they are trying to raise awareness and will continue the strike tomorrow, on the 22nd of November, in hopes that more Uber drivers will show up and support them.
by Kyriaki Topalidou
