Dozens of drivers for ridesharing apps including Uber, Lyft and Skip the Dishes held a “strike” on Wednesday morning.
The workers are unhappy with current wages and working conditions, and held the self-described strike at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond.
“It’s not just the drivers who are getting impacted by the Uber techniques (and) how (it) makes money … Canadian consumers are being robbed,” Uber driver Guramar Sidhu told Global News.
“They are ripped off and then the drivers are not being paid accordingly, which they should be with the hard work that we’re doing.”
Dozens of signs were seen with some saying the pay discrepancy between Uber’s profits, and CEO pay, compared to driver’s earnings is far from fair.
Last year, the B.C. government released legislation to improve wages and work conditions for gig-economy workers. Still, in a protest outside the labour minister’s office in January, drivers said those changes don’t go far enough.
Drivers also gathered outside Harry Bans’ constituency office calling for improvements, including a living wage, reliable work and better working standards for drivers in their industry.
Thousands of ridesharing drivers in other Canadian cities, and U.S. cities, are expected to be protesting on Wednesday as well.
In a statement, an Uber Canada spokesperson said the company doesn’t expect the protests to have an impact on trips or prices.
It added that drivers in Vancouver are making $36 an hour during engaged time.
The B.C. government announced in November 2023 new rules to ensure Uber and food delivery services drivers get paid a minimum wage.
The rules set the minimum wage for drivers at 120 per cent of the province’s current minimum wage. That works out at $20.10 per hour with the difference meant to account for the downtime between trips.
Drivers are also protected under WorkSafeBC.
Workers are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, including vocational rehabilitation services, for work-related injuries, the province said.