Uber Valentine’s Day driver strike: Lior Samfiru offers commentary with 640 Toronto

Interview Summary

Uber drivers proposed a one-day strike on Valentine’s Day to protest meagre wages. What rights do Uber drivers, and other ride-share workers, have to standard compensation? Do ride-share companies have any obligations to their drivers regarding wages and benefits?

Lior Samfiru, a Toronto employment lawyer and Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joined 640 Toronto with guest host Ben Mulroney to answer these questions and more on gig-worker rights.

Interview Notes

• Compensation offered by Uber: Due to the revenue split offered by Uber, many drivers for the ride-share company earn less than minimum wage. Samfiru stated that many drivers are missing out on important protections. “There are other protections that Uber drivers are exempt from, such as unemployment insurance, overtime, vacation pay, etc.”
• Employee or contract worker: Many drivers have stated they have been misclassified by Uber, and are employees, not contractors. “If they have been misclassified, they should have all the protections of employees as well,” Samfiru explained. “If you are an employee, your employer can’t just do whatever they want.”
• Wages made by the drivers: Uber has argued drivers can make up to $30.00/hour during engaged hours. Uber drivers, however, have stated compensation depends on the route driver, traffic, the time of day, etc. Samfiru went on to explain that for many drivers, compensation typically averages less than minimum wage.
• The solution offered by other private sector companies: While other ride-share apps and companies are within their rights to offer a different working model for their drivers, Samfirued explained that most seem to be concerned with profit. “Even if these companies have to treat these drivers as employees down the road, they will still be better off by continuing as they are currently.”
• Likelihood of a successful strike: Strikes are typically successful in a unionized context as all employees are off work simultaneously. Unionized employees cannot be penalized for taking a strike. Unfortunately, Uber drivers do not want to miss out on a busy day and miss out on compensation. Uber could also push drivers off of the platform if they chose to partake in the strike.
• Increase in cost to Uber customer impact: Despite a potential cost increase to Uber as a result of classifying drivers as employees, Uber would still receive a significant profit. Samfiru reiterated the importance of abiding by legislation and laws. “Employment laws exist to protect individuals regardless of the potential loss of revenue to employers.

Related Resources

For further insights and discussions related to gig worker rights and the Uber class-action lawsuit, explore the following resources:

• Uber Class Action Lawsuit
• Lior Samfiru on wage increase for gig workers