Protesting ‘low pay’, Ola, Uber drivers on strike today

“If our demands are not met, we will extend the strike indefinitely.”

In the second such action this year, Ola and Uber drivers have planned a one-day strike on Tuesday to protest “low pay”. The agitating union — Sarvodaya Drivers’ Association, which organised a 13-day long cab strike in the NCR in February this year, has called for the fresh strike demanding that cab fares be raised from Rs 6 per kilometre to Rs 20 per kilometre.

The association, which claims to represent over one lakh app-based taxi drivers in the national capital region, has also been demanding a rollback of the 25 per cent commission drivers are charged by companies like Ola and Uber.

Ravi Rathore, vice-president of the Sarvodaya Drivers’ Association, said. “A protest march will be taken out from Majnu-ka-Tila to the CM’s residence in Civil Lines. There is anger among drivers that government is not intervening in raising their issues with Ola and Uber.”

Rathore added, “If our demands are not met, we will extend the strike indefinitely.”

Uber India had moved court in February accusing the striking drivers of blocking cabs of drivers who had not joined the strike, confiscating their devices and hampering their legitimate business. The Delhi High Court, after hearing Uber’s plea, passed an interim order restraining anyone, including two taxi drivers’ unions, from “hampering” and interfering with the running of app-based cabs of Uber India.

On Monday, the High Court again restrained two taxi drivers’ unions — the Sarvodaya Drivers’ Association of Delhi (SDAD) and the Rajdhani Tourist Drivers’ Union — from disrupting services of cabs run by Ola and Uber in the national capital region.

Welcoming the court order, Uber said in a statement, “We are hopeful that the order will be effectively enforced and that action will be taken against any person who attempts to block cars, confiscate devices or harass riders and drivers, and that the safety of everyone using the Uber App in Delhi is ensured.”

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Meanwhile, in another case, the Centre told the Delhi High Court that it had set up a panel that has proposed guidelines for regulating taxi services in the country and that the proposal has been sent to the state governments for action. The HC was hearing petitions by radio taxi operators against Ola and Uber being allowed to operate without valid licences. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was passed by the Lok Sabha on April 10 to include changes in cab policies.

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