Friday, April 22, 2016

Uber paid 100 million dollars to prevent their drivers are considered employees – La Nacion (Argentina)

Agreed monetary settlement to continue as autonomous; thus terminates the lawsuit brought by drivers seeking a recognition of the employment relationship they have with the company

Photo: AP

Uber reached an agreement with the drivers of service in the United States for which he will pay up to 100 million dollars in exchange they continue working as freelancers for the company to avoid drastic changes in their business model.

drivers Uber had filed a class action lawsuit in San Francisco, where they demanded to be recognized as employees of the firm instead of as self-employed. However, following this agreement, drivers maintain their current status.

The agreement is pending the approval of the competent judge handling the case in San Francisco, which is not a mere formality, as judges may refuse compensation and demand improvements.

in a first step, Uber was willing to pay $ 84 million to about 385,000 drivers and another 16 million at the time when the value of the company after its IPO exceeds by more than 50 percent of its current value. Uber is valued at 60,000 million dollars.

Other than the millionaire payment, the agreement provides for further concessions to the drivers, who may place such signs on their cars asking tip for the service, which was restricted by company standards.

in turn, in the future Uber will have to notify in good time the drivers of a possible termination of the contractual relationship, as well as providing justification for this decision.

the drivers had criticized Uber treated them as employees in many ways.

However, the company considers fundamental to its business model that drivers continue to operate as independent to avoid incurring the usual obligations I would have as an employer. Uber defined itself simply as a platform for technological mediation.

Other start-ups or technological enterprises, which provide delivery services or cleaning and operate in a very similar way, closely followed the case. The form has sparked a debate in the US about a possible tightening of labor market regulations, and in the case of Uber there have been contradictory decisions of the authorities on whether drivers should be considered employees or not.

the rapid international expansion Uber has sparked conflict with the authorities and the taxi industry in many countries, who accuse the start-up of San Franscisco of unfair competition.

recently, the despligue service in Buenos Aires was not without controversy and polemics, with protests by taxi drivers and the refusal of the authorities, who consider the platform as illegal. A Buenos Aires prosecutor requested the blockade both its application and its website, but Uber still remains active, with a base of 30,000 drivers and more than 200,000 downloads of the mobile application in its first week of use.

Agency DPA

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