A coalition of concerned organisations, led by global unions including the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation), has formed to express its shock over a ‘strategic partnership’ between UN Women and Uber, the ‘ride booking’ app provider. The coalition took the message to the floor of the 59th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW59) today, after Uber used the event to announce a plan to supposedly create a million jobs for women drivers.

Speaking from UNCSW59, Brigitta Paas, ITF vice president, commented: “As unions and NGOs we find it astonishing that UN Women is linking to this organisation, based on a promise of a million jobs that we know are likely to be insecure, ill paid, and potentially unsafe. Uber says it operates in 55 countries around the world, but according to our research, almost 40 percent of national or local governments in those countries have said ‘no’ to Uber one way or another. There is not a day that passes without a news story on Uber, but many of those stories are scandalous and disturbing. They include reports of assaults, surge pricing, and breaches of privacy. There have even been cases of Uber ignoring rulings to shut down its service and indicating to drivers that it will pay the fines and cost of any appeals if drivers are penalized for continuing to use its app to pick up passengers.”

She concluded: “We urge the UN Women organisation to reconsider this announcement of their partnership with Uber without delay.”
The statement delivered at UNCSW can be seen in full here.
You can express your support for the statement, using the email uber@itf.org.uk