San Francisco Says Coronavirus Has Made Gig Economy's Labor Abuses Untenable

Uber, Lyft warn drivers about coronavirus, but offer no paid sick days

London cycle instructors demand Mayor ends "gig economy" contracts

Press release by:
IWGB

Cycling instructors working for London local authorities are to send an open letter to the Mayor, the councils and companies demanding improved pay and conditions.

Instructors provide vital road safety training to FORS certified truck and van drivers, and play an essential role in the Mayor's environmental and road safety plans.

Conditions in the sector have been eroding for over a decade

4 February: Cycling instructors working for London local authorities via contracted companies are demanding that Mayor Sadiq Khan and councils put an end to the deteriorating conditions and gig economy contracts that plague the sector.

The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain's (IWGB) Cycle Instructors Branch, the union's newest branch, made the demands in an open letter that will be sent today to Khan, Cycling and Walking Commissioner Will Norman, 32 London Borough Councils, and the main cycle training contractors.

Cycle training is not only vital for the Mayor's own targets in reducing road deaths and injuries (Vision Zero), but also to tackling the rising congestion and emissions crisis on London's streets.

Much of the Mayor's Vision Zero plan to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries from London's streets by 2041, includes the Safe Urban Driving courses given by cycling instructors to Transport for London drivers, and FORS certified truck and van drivers.

But as the importance of the work of cycling instructors has grown, their working conditions have worsened.

Flat wages have resulted in a real-terms pay cuts at most companies, while increasingly the tendering process is seeing significant downward pressure on pay, with some rates falling as low as £12.50/hour - £7.50 an hour lower than 10 years ago. Meanwhile the duties and responsibilities of instructors have increased.

Despite working for companies that have significant control over their work, they are being contracted as independent contractors, rather than workers, emulating the worst abuses of "gig economy" employers such as Uber and Deliveroo.

Other issues include:

Work allocation has become increasingly disjointed and unpredictable and cancellation policies can mean whole weeks of work cancelled at 48 hours notice

The required training, insurance and documentation has become more expensive

Safety is compromised as instructor-client ratios are stretched and, increasingly, provisionally qualified instructors are asked to carry out tasks for which they are not qualified, including the risk assessment and risk management of children in on-road training drills.

The recent review of the Bikeability Scheme has meant the qualification instructors have studied for and paid is suddenly no longer valid, requiring yet more financial outlay and time.

Michael McSherry, Chair of the IWGB's Cycle Instructors Branch said: "Until now, there has been no voice representing instructors and as a result conditions have deteriorated to a point where many are having difficulty making it to the end of the month. Often whole weeks of classes are cancelled with only two days notice and instructors lose out on hundreds of pounds in earnings. The outsourcing model used by almost all of the boroughs has an inevitable downward pressure on wages, on quality and on safety. The Mayor has to ask himself if he is willing to gamble the safety of Londoners on this broken system or if he will implement the modest changes we are asking for."
See Open Letter attached.

Analysis of the California AB5 law:
"How did California manage to pass this law, and what implications might AB5 hold for the relationship between work, poverty, and democracy more broadly?"

An article that raises fundamental issues and stakes at play.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Open-Forum-Uber-Lyft-ready-to-do-our-part-for-13969843.php?psid=bBu57IN-DEPTH

By Dara Khosrowshahi, Logan Green, John Zimmer 12 juin 2019

Les patrons des grandes compagnies VTC, dont Uber et Lyft, publient une lettre ouverte dans le San Francisco Chronicle s'engageant à fournir certains avantages et protections pour les chauffeurs. Selon le Los Angeles Times il s'agit d'une "campagne publique" pour "faire pression" sur les législateurs en Californie pour que les chauffeurs VTC bénéficient d'une dérogation au projet de loi en cours de discussion au congrès de l'Etat. La mesure vise à combattre le salariat déguisée. Elle introduirait l'inversement de la charge de la preuve par la présomption du statut salarial pour les travailleurs. Cela serait aux compagnies d'établir le statut de travailleur indépendant, par l'application de critères précis. Plusieurs secteurs professionnels ont déjà obtenu de telles dérogations.

Ils déclarent, entre autres, que le statut de travailleur indépendant pour les chauffeurs est une condition de la viabilité du modèle économique de leurs entreprises.

https://www.un.org/en/digital-cooperation-panel/index.html

The High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation was established by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on 12 July 2018.

The report has three main sections:
"Leaving No One Behind": a landscape of how digital technology can support achievement the SDGs and how to ensure a more inclusive digital economy;
"Individuals, Societies and Digital Technologies": a review of issues related to human rights, human agency and security in the digital realm;
"Mechanisms for Global Digital Cooperation": an analysis of current gaps and proposals for how to improve our global digital cooperation architecture.

It makes five sets of recommendations:
Build an Inclusive Digital Economy and Society
Develop Human and Institutional Capacity
Protect Human Rights and Human Agency
Promote Digital Trust, Security and Stability
Foster Global Digital Cooperation