FNV heads back to court to force Uber to employ its drivers

Photo: Dutch News
Photo: DutchNews.nl

Trade union federation FNV is to return to court in an effort to force online taxi service Uber to start treating drivers as employees.

In September, judges in Amsterdam ruled that drivers for Uber are employees of the company and should fall under the taxi sector’s collective labour agreement.

Since then, however, Uber has taken no action, the union said. ‘Every time Uber looks for a way out and causes delays,’ FNV negotiator Amrit Sewgobind told the Financieele Dagblad. ‘We have had enough, and hopefully the court has too.’

At the time of the earlier hearing, the court did not threaten Uber with a fine for non-compliance.

Uber is appealing against that ruling. ‘We are disappointed with this decision because we know that the overwhelming majority of drivers wish to remain independent,’ Maurits Schönfeld, Uber’s general manager for northern Europe said at the time.

The NRC reported earlier this week that Uber has paid the legal costs of a new foundation set up by a group of drivers who want to remain independent. The company has also paid for a communications expert to help them, the paper said.

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