App-based gig workers warn of strike if B.C. does not improve labour protections

As the sole caregiver for his aging father, Kuljeet Singh says he needs a job with flexible hours.

He began working as an Uber driver in 2020 but with inflation and the rising cost of living, Singh says he is struggling to make ends meet, despite working 12-hour days, seven days a week. 

"If you deduct all the depreciations, all the gas expenses, all the repairs. My income was like only $33,000," Singh said. "Uber drivers, Lyft drivers, they are humans. We are not machines."

Singh is among a group of gig workers in B.C. who say they're prepared to go on strike to demand basic labour protections, such as workers' compensation, the ability to unionize, and greater pay transparency.

"It's not an acceptable standard of work for anybody in this province and it shouldn't be for these folks, mostly, newer people to our country," said Sussanne Skidmore, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour. 

"They're providing a much needed service here, they should have the basic rights that employees in this province have."

Demanding Minimum Wage

Singh said after gas, taxes and vehicle maintenance, most ride-hail drivers do not make the hourly minimum wage and most app platforms take about half of every fare. 

"If I deduct gas, taxes, everything, it's three to four dollars per hour. That's what we are getting," said Singh.

Under B.C.'s Employment Standards Act, most employees have basic protections such as minimum wage, overtime pay and workers' compensation. Many gig workers are classified as independent contractors or freelancers, and are not covered under the same protections.  

"Uber has been able to work inside that grey area and make sure that these workers are not covered by the workers' compensation, and so one of the things that the B.C. Federation of Labour has been really pushing hard on, is we actually need some legislative change," Skidmore said.

The renewed calls for improved workplace protections come after an assault that took place on April 18, in Abbotsford. Dashcam footage shows Uber driver Aman Sood being punched in the head by a passenger. Sood filed a claim with B.C.'s Workers' Compensation Board, which was denied. 

"I'm out of earnings," said Sood. "I don't have even my rent. I'm just using how much savings, a little bit, I had and I had no support from anyone."

Skidmore said more female drivers are choosing to deliver food rather than picking up passengers due to safety concerns. 

"One of my colleagues was having a chat with a worker the other day, and she was driving her Uber with her grandma to add an extra layer of safety. That shouldn't happen, shouldn't need to happen," she said. 

Improved protections

Uber driver Inderraj Gill claims most gig economy workers do not receive compensation for lost income due to workplace injury. 

"That is a punch to the gut for somebody who's maybe reliant on the work to pay off their rent or mortgage," Gill said.

In a statement Saturday, Uber Canada said it has an agreement with the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW Canada), one of North America's largest private-sector unions. 

"Since the agreement was announced ... 794 workers have had their deactivation or account-related issue case filed with Uber Canada by UFCW Canada. Of these cases, 201 had a positive resolution." 

Despite this, Gill says, most drivers still feel they have no voice — when they do report concerns to Uber support or the union, their accounts are often frozen for weeks if not months. 

"It's a system which discourages you to be safe basically," said Gill. 

Uber confirms when a driver or passenger reports a problem, it tries to conduct an investigation, which may include temporarily placing a driver's account on hold. 

"There should be some labour laws for the contract drivers," said Rishi Sharma, another Uber driver. 

The province's labour minister said they are speaking with workers and companies like Uber Canada, to improve job conditions and protections. 

Singh says if the government does not step up soon, he and other drivers are prepared to strike.