Taxi drivers who provide their services in the Netherlands via Uber are not independent entrepreneurs, but employees. The company has to hire and pay them in accordance with the taxi collective agreement. The Amsterdam District Court decided this today.
The trade union FNV sued because, according to the union, the construction the company uses is not good enough and most drivers earn less than minimum wage. FNV has asked Uber to adjust its policy and pay drivers’ wages in accordance with the Taxi Transportation Collective Labor Agreement.
Both sides had taken the drivers to trial to support their point.
“A reference to The Hague”
Zakaria Buvangasha, Vice President of FNV, was pleased with the statement: “This statement makes clear what we have been saying for years: Uber is an employer and drivers are employees, so Uber must abide by the collective labor agreement for taxi transport. It is also a reference to Den Haag that this These types of constructions are illegal and that the law must therefore be enforced.”
Moritz Schönefeld, general manager of Northern Europe at Uber, is disappointed. “We know that the vast majority of drivers wish to continue operating independently. Drivers do not want to give up the freedom to choose if, where, when and with whom. In the interests of drivers, we are appealing for the court ruling, as we continue to work to improve the platform’s work in the Netherlands “.
suits abroad
FNV has previously filed cases against meal delivery company Deliveroo and cleanup of the Helpling app. Cases against Deliveroo were won, and the case against Helpling was largely lost.
Cases have also been filed against Uber in other European countries, including Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Belgium. In the UK, Uber has classified around 70,000 drivers as employed after a court ruling, giving them the right to minimum wage and vacation pay. The company notes that this rating is only available in the UK.
