Labour MPs signal support for Uber strike

Uber drivers are set to begin a 24 hour strike across the UK from 10:00am today.

Labour MPs Zarah Sultana and Ian Byrne have expressed their support for the strike via social media.

Ms Zultana, MP for Coventry South, said: “Uber is a mega-corporation, worth billions of pounds with bosses earning fortunes. But the drivers are exploited, underpaid & unfairly deactivated.”

The United Private Hire Drivers (UPHD) union which represents the drivers have called on users to “switch off the app” and “join the protest” planned outside Uber’s London office in Aldgate Tower.

Uber recently refused to implement a court ruling that said they must pay waiting time, which makes up around 40 per cent of their drivers’ working hours. The unions also claim that large numbers of drivers are being unfairly dismissed.

Independent trade union the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain said via Facebook that the strikers are demanding better pay and the reinstatement of ‘unfairly deactivated drivers’.