
Demonstration of VTC drivers on January 16, 2017, place de la Bastille, in Paris. Fred VIELCANET / Gamma-Rapho by way of Getty Photos
What to do subsequent the historic judgment of the Court of Cassation on the standing of Uber drivers? This Wednesday, March four, the best French courtroom has determined to reclassify the connection between the American platform and a driver as an employment contract. Actually, he should be thought-about as an worker, not as a self-employed individual. A victory for the unions, which now have just one goal: to multiply the information just like the commercial tribunal, to acquire a most of selections going of their route.
"Lastly, it was time," hastened to touch upon Brahim Ben Ali, spokesperson for the nationwide inter-union of hybrid bikes, on Twitter. "Uber, Kapten, Bolt … You will have been warned." Earlier than including: "I’m already making ready a slew of information on the nationwide stage. Actions on the industrial tribunal will rain." Similar story on the aspect of the SCP-VTC union, affiliated to the united states. Joined by Enterprise Insider France, its secretary basic Sayah Baaroun says he already has "20 information within the pipeline" and "100 others in preparation" in a number of main cities together with Paris, Lyon, Nantes and Lille.
'Airbnb doesn’t set the rental value'
The objective ? "Crumble Uber underneath a mountain of information." He hopes to construct a thousand earlier than the tip of the yr. Secondly, he want to rework his union, which has round 3000 members, into an expert group, a "VTC order", with which the platforms might set the principles.
Sayah Baaroun, for instance, finds it absurd that in the present day platforms like Uber set their costs as they see match. "The pricing facet mustn’t return to a connecting platform. That is the case in no different sector. Airbnb doesn’t set the rental value and Alloresto doesn’t select the worth of meals as a substitute of eating places", feedback the commerce unionist.
"If Uber desires to resolve as a substitute of entrepreneurs, then he should rent them as an worker, settle in France, pay VAT and expenses," says Sayah Baaroun, who will not be afraid of seeing the platforms go away the nation. , if the laws develop into too restrictive for them. "In the event that they go away, others will come and apply the principles we’re going to ask for," he mentioned.
A 'particular case' in keeping with Uber
However for Uber, this courtroom ruling stays "a particular case of a driver who has not used the applying since 2017". A spokesperson instructed Enterprise Insider France that it "doesn’t mirror the the explanation why drivers select to make use of the Uber software."
"They use the Uber app if, when and the place they need, can work with different apps and have their very own non-public clients", explains the platform. "Over the previous two years, now we have made many modifications to present drivers much more management over how they use the app. We’ll proceed to take heed to them and make additional enhancements."
Quoted by 20 minutes, Uber France CEO Steve Salom says "the overwhelming majority of drivers don’t intend to develop into staff". "We aren’t afraid of a state of affairs the place complete waves of drivers want to be re-qualified," he mentioned.
Within the meantime, the Intersyndicale VTC has been planning since mid-February mobilization of drivers this Friday, March 6. It invitations them to a "whole extinction of all apps" and to a "shock motion" in entrance of the Uber premises. Specifically, it criticizes the platform for a brand new process which ends up in the suspension of a driver within the occasion of a repeated refusal of a race, a stage of fee charged too excessive, the absence of minimal tariff and the presence of "false drivers" with spurious VTC playing cards.
In line with platform estimates, there are 30,000 VTC drivers in France.
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Uber, Kapten, Marcel … You could pay a lot more for your trip on March 6
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