Uber drivers in Victoria granted union certification
Union claims it is the 1st group of gig workers in Canada to be certified under provincial labour laws
More than 500 Uber drivers in Victoria, B.C., have received union certification from the province's labour relations board.
The drivers will now look to bargain for collective rights with Uber, the ride-hailing giant that recently expanded across the province.
In a statement, United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Canada, whose Local 1518 will represent the drivers, says it is the first time gig workers in Canada have had a union certified.
A union spokesperson said the Uber drivers will be the first in Canada to have a formal say in their workplace, and they will soon bring a number of concerns to a negotiating table.
"By and large, they include things like health and safety compensation, exploring whether or not there's a possibility of benefits, and things that would ... form a regular part of a collective bargaining agreement," said Pablo Godoy, UFCW Canada's director for emerging sectors.
Godoy said the process was almost a year in the making, and it took a lot of work among drivers to talk to each other and sign union cards.
The spokesperson noted that, given Uber's model of having drivers sign themselves up for gig work, there were some unique wrinkles to having ride-hailing drivers become part of a union.
In B.C., if more than 55 per cent of a workplace sign union cards, they automatically become certified with the B.C. Labour Relations Board under a single-step certification process.
Godoy said that over 500 drivers signed union cards, and the union estimated there were around 600 or 700 drivers in Victoria at the time. Ultimately, the labour board was satisfied the union met the 55 per cent threshold.
"The interesting and unique part of this industry is that, given the barrier to entry being so low, we know that at any given moment there can be an influx of drivers onto the platform," Godoy said.
"And so we're looking forward to, in bargaining, understanding exactly the number of new members that UFCW Canada is welcoming into their family."
The union representative said that drivers want to see better provisions around health and safety, as well as more transparency around payments, app rating systems and account deactivations.
Godoy said the union hoped to begin bargaining with Uber in the next month or two and shortly thereafter have the union's first collective agreement.
Beefed up gig worker regulations
Last August, the province passed expanded gig worker regulations, which included a minimum wage of $20.88 an hour, workers' compensation coverage, and measures for pay transparency — though the wage only applied to time spent on jobs, not time spent waiting for jobs.
At the time, Uber expressed concerns about the prospect of giving workers a minimum wage, but provincial officials did not back down from the regulation.
The measures came after a number of high-profile cases involving threats to drivers and reports of them not being able to make ends meet.
The rules meant gig workers would be classified as employees, opening the door for further worker protections.
In a Wednesday statement, Uber said there will be no change to the experience of drivers and passengers in Victoria.
"With the recent modernization of [B.C.] labour laws ... drivers as online platform workers can determine whether they want union representation," read a statement from Laura Miller, Uber Canada's director of public policy.
"We will be sitting down with UFCW 1518 to discuss the issues raised by drivers."
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With files from Jessica Cheung