Alianza Unidos World Action
Alianza Unidos World Action is a collection of more than 30 groups across the world fighting for the rights of app-based workers against tech giants like Uber, Lyft, Deliveroo, Glovo, Pedidos Ya and more.
Unidos World Action is making our voices heard with international actions in front of representatives from the EU and Brussels with a very clear message:
This affects all workers
The precarity and exploitation of so-called gig work is coming for all sectors – riders, drivers, clickworkers, domestic workers, temps, artists – every industry is at risk of becoming a pit of precarity, subcontracting and division between workers.
DEFENDING OUR HUMAN RIGHTS
• A living wage that provides security and dignity (with defined hourly rates)
• A safety net including accident insurance, sick leave and unemployment insurance.
• Rights to union representation, negotiation and collective action.
THE CREATION OF DIGITAL RIGHTS
If an app is your boss, then it needs to be held to the same standards as any other boss. Don’t be a victim of the algorithm!
• The app must be intelligible, controllable, transparent and subject to collective bargaining agreements.
• Arbitrary and unjust deactivations must be ended
• Apps should be subject to public and trade union oversight through a public register
• All users must have the right to access and control their data, along with its use and the profits it generates.
What They Tell You About “Independence” and what’s really going on
You’re a contractor, not an employee
False! Courts around the world have found that gig workers are legally employees and deserve their full rights and protections under the law. We’re not independent at all because the app controls where and when we work and it’s in the sole control of the employer.
You make more money because there’s no tax withholding or social security
False! What’s left when you deduct the cost of your phone bill, supplies, and maintaining your bike, scooter or car? What if we get sick and can’t work? If we have an accident between jobs, we’re on our own with no help from the apps. If we get sick during the pandemic our families are stuck with no income and no help from our employers.
You’re your own boss, you decided when and how much to work
False! We have schedules! We have to work at specific times and for a number of hours determined by the app if we want to make any money. If the app is on, but we’re not getting any work, how is that flexibility? We don’t get paid for wait time and the app bundles rides and deliveries, which cuts down on our pay even more.
If workers become employees, the apps will cut jobs
False! You can already be deactivated without cause at any time. There’s no security in the contractor model, when, at any moment, the app can take your job away for any reason. Becoming employees empowers us to claim our rights as workers and fight for laws that protect our jobs.
RECENT GIG WORKER VICTORIES
Italy, January 24, 2020 – The supreme court recognized the employee rights of five Foodora delivery workers. The workers had participated in the first strike in Turin and were deactivated from the platform by the company.
France, March 4, 2020 – The court of appeals confirmed that Uber drivers are employees.
Uruguay, June 4, 2020 – The court of appeals confirmed that an Uber driver is an employee and forced the company to provide holiday pay and year end bonuses.
Bolivia, Sept. 30, 2020 – Courts recognized the right to be classified as employees for seven Pedidos Ya workers.
Spain, Sept. 23, 2020 – Deliveroo is obligated to pay €1,300 to the social security contributions of its workers. The supreme court declares that there is an employee/employer relationship between Glovo and its employees. Additionally, more than 40 cases brought against Glovo and Deliveroo have won compensation/reactivation for workers on the grounds that they are employees.
Chile, Jan. 14, 2021 – The court of appeals overturned the dismissal of a Pedidos Ya worker and made the company make the worker whole for the time they were terminated.
Belgium, Jan. 13, 2021 – The labor board issued a decision that the working conditions of Uber drivers are incompatible with independent contractor status.
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