Uber Eats strike: Drivers protest over pay, blocking east London roads and leaving customers hungry
Uber Eats drivers have abandoned their deliveries in the capital in a protest over pay.
Couriers have gridlocked the roads around Aldgate East Station as they demand better pay from the food delivery service arm of Uber.
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Uber Eats admitted it’s changing how drivers are being paid, with a spokesperson saying: “We recently asked couriers for feedback on how we could help maximise their earnings.
“In response we’re making some changes to our payment structure in Birmingham, London and Manchester, which also bring these cities more in line with the rest of the UK.”
As a result, workers have surrounded the entrance to Uber’s Aldgate office.
https://twitter.com/shonaghosh/status/1042772394388193280
Images online suggest they are asking for a minimum £5 payment per journey, plus £1 for every extra mile they drive – as well as “no victimisation”.
The London Living Wage is £10.20 per hour, while the national minimum wage is £7.83 per hour for people aged over 25.
One driver said Uber Eats has reduced the minimum order from £4.26 to £3.50, which he said “isn’t really worth us coming out of bed” for.
He wanted Uber Eats to revert to the old payment structure before working with couriers on a better deal.
Uber Eats has surveyed around 1,200 couriers about pay in recent months, finding 78 per cent would prefer higher earnings in peak hours even if that lowered earnings in less busy periods.
Couriers can use their partner app to identify areas with the highest demand and earning potential.
Drivers had told Uber that the app's so-called boost feature to multiply earnings was too low, and not widely available enough.
https://twitter.com/CallumCant1/status/1042751445613903874
Meanwhile, police have failed to clear drivers protesting around Aldgate East, chanting “no money, no food” as angry customers wait hungrily for orders that aren’t going to appear.
The drivers allege that Uber Eat’s changes to the payment structure amount to a 40 per cent pay cut.
Uber Eats’ spokesperson insisted the new payment structure would benefit drivers.
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“The changes will help increase courier earnings during busy mealtimes, while providing more transparency on when and where the potential to earn is highest,” they said.
“To provide couriers with confidence the new system will improve earnings during the busiest times, we’re also introducing minimum payment guarantees of £9-11 an hour.
“Making improvements in response to courier feedback is a top priority, such as the sickness, injury, maternity and paternity protections we recently introduced. Our door is always open for individual couriers to speak to us about any issues they're having."