I love workers standing up for themselves, and I think it's a massive shame union membership isn't as prevalent as it was years ago, and that they have had their powers weakened.
However that doesn't mean must always support the labour in an industrial dispute. For example, I supported the reasons for fire brigade and NHS strikes, but I have no sympathy for tube drivers.
Still haven't used Uber myself for similar reasons I don't shop at Sports Direct (i.e. moral/ethical reasons).
However I think with Uber there are multiple issues at play here. Yes there have been numerous examples of Uber forcing down wages of drivers. However I know someone who does a bit of Uber to top up his wages when needed and he seems content with the rates (well to be more accurate when we've discussed them sometimes some fares seem ridiculously low, some seem higher than we both would expect, and the app helps drivers to find areas with surge pricing so they can make more). Guy drives a 2012 Merc E Class (as a basic Uber cab, not XL as his car isn't new enough), and the numbers work for him so it can't be as bad as some people suggest.
Forgetting this one person's experience, London Black cabs have had it too good for too long. Here black cabs are the only people allowed to pick up on the street while minicabs need to be prebooked. Ask minicab drivers if they've ever been abused by black cab drivers if they have been prebooked to pickup from somewhere where there is also a black cab rank. Ask minicab drivers if they have ever had black cab drivers drive in a dangerous manner just to annoy/impede the minicab. Anyone who drives round will see that both minicabs and black cabs often pull dodgy manoveres that would earn Joe Public a ticket but for some bizarre reason police allow such behaviour because they are professional drivers (while truck drivers are expected to pay much more attention and behave as they are professional drivers). I mention both black cabs and minicabs do this, but black cabs seem to be the worst to me.
Even I was reading that when the London Low Emission Zone was introduced, there were pretty much no exemptions, not even for emergency vehicles (especially relevant for example for something like a tall ladder appliance that might barely get used so isn't replaced every few years), but somehow black cabs got an exemption to run filthy old ancient technology engines.
Also not many people know that black cabs have different tariffs for different situations. If people learn and pay attention, I remember it wasn't uncommon (maybe one in 10 journeys) I would see the cabbie try and sting me with a higher tariff than applicable.
I can't prove the definite link, but imho the black cabs became way too powerful and I am sure this is linked to the obscene rates they are allowed to charge. Then once black cabs were allowed to demand obscene pay, minicabs rode their coat tails. End result being minicab prices were ridiculous.
Whilst generally I agree with protecting worker's rights and pay, we also have to be realistic and accept new technologies will open up new job opportunities while closing or limiting others.
In addition black cab drivers aren't the saints they pretend to be. I also don't buy their safety nonsense.
John Warboys was a black driver who got away with a lot. With Uber, there would have been a digital link between him and each of his victims which I suspect would have made him much easier to find. I haven't seen any evidence that extensive psychological screening is performed to prescreen black drivers to weed out potential rapists either which makes me wonder why they even spew such nonsense.
Simple observation is that while the British people do have a tendency to be dumb sheep, even they seem to have some elements of thought processes. Sports Direct has loads of bad press about workers conditions which hit their business hard. Uber has their business threatened and we have over half a million people sign a petition in one day. I don't think I've ever heard of such a response which says to me that Uber must be doing something right for a lot of people (or the alternatives must be doing something very wrong).
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