Uber Drivers Across Australia Are Protesting This Morning

If you were planning on catching an Uber to a lunchtime meeting or a late morning uni class, you may find yourself waiting longer than usual. Drivers in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane will simultaneously log off the app at 10.30am — on Wednesday, May 8 — and deliver letters of demand to Uber head offices as part of a worldwide strike protesting the mistreatment and underpayment of drivers.

The strike comes ahead of Uber's Initial Public Offering (IPO) — where members of the public can buy shares in a company for the first time — for which it's reportedly expected to make close to $9 billion.

The unions organising the strikes, Rideshare Drivers United in the US and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and the Rideshare Driver Co-Operative in Australia, say that while the company is set to make a heap of money, it continues to "reduce driver rates, deactivate drivers with no notice or right to appeal and refuse to support drivers".

The TWU also reports that rideshare drivers make on average $16 per hour, less than Australia's minimum wage, before fuel, insurance and other costs.

So, we could see Uber fare hikes in the near future — or drivers jump to other providers, such as Ola and Taxify, both which take a smaller commission cut compared to Uber — Taxify takes a 15 percent cut compared to Uber's 25 percent.

While drivers in the US are expected to strike for 24 hours from midnight on Wednesday, May 8, Aussie drivers will deliver letters of demand on mass at 10.30am — so expect some delays and surges around then.