Uber's vice-president and global head of public policy wants Ontario to speed up its efforts to deliver gig economy legislation and act on its pitch to boost gig worker benefits.
"We would like to go further and faster and more quickly than perhaps the government is ready to do," said Andrew Byrne, in an interview with The Canadian Press during a visit to Toronto this week.
Some workers' groups, such as Gig Workers United, dislike the pitch because they see it as Uber's way of avoiding classifying workers as employees, who would be entitled to minimum wage, vacation pay and parental and medical leave. "These foundational rights have no precedent or template in Canada to pull from. By providing drivers and couriers with these protections, we’re raising the floor, not setting the ceiling," the minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development wrote in a statement.
About 75 per cent of them are working fewer than 15 hours per week for Uber and the same amount said flexibility was a key reason for signing up. The partnership allows UFCW Canada to provide representation to about 100,000 Canadian drivers and couriers, if requested by the workers, when they are facing account deactivations and other disputes with Uber.But many workers and at least one union objected to the arrangement, accusing Uber of striking the partnership to quiet UFCW, which previously had concerns about driver compensation and rights.
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Uber public policy head wants Ontario to move 'faster and further' on gig economyUber's vice-president and global head of public policy wants Ontario to speed up its efforts to deliver gig economy legislation and act on its pitch to boost gig worker benefits.
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