In a few years Uber completely changed labour laws in many countries around the world. How? Recent leaks known as the Uber files show they broke rules, duped the police and secretly lobbied high level politicians to help them. [1]
This helped Uber achieve a massive and rapid expansion making the company a fortune while exploiting their workers. Their employees have low pay, no basic employee rights like sick or holiday pay, a pension or parental leave.
Last year the EU tried to remedy this with a new law to give Uber and other platform workers the same rights as other employees. But Uber did everything it could to stop the law, even getting the help of one of their biggest supporters, French President Emmanuel Macron. [2]
But these leaks are so damaging that EU lawmakers are taking notice. Now we have a chance to move this law forward and get real rights for Uber and other platform workers in Europe. This could be a game changer but it won’t happen without public pressure.