The Uber-Ola drivers' strike in Delhi fizzled out, but the unresolved row may resurface any time

After 10 days of being part of a cab drivers’ strike against taxi aggregators Uber and Ola in Delhi, Kamal Negi was back at work on Monday. The 45-year-old is a driver-partner with both the app-based taxi services.

On February 10, over 100,000 cab drivers in the National Capital Region had started an indefinite strike against the aggregators, demanding better pay and benefits. They alleged that their monthly incomes were inadequate because of the high commissions they paid to the companies, the low per-kilometer rates and lack of incentives.

The strike, however, fizzled out with time. And though it has not been called off, it has been reduced to a handful of drivers, under the banner of the Sarvodaya Driver Association of Delhi, sitting on dharna (sit-in protest) in the city’s Jantar Mantar area. A few others who are not associated with any group are also holding out till the companies agree to negotiate with them.

The matter is also being heard in the Delhi High Court. Uber and Ola had petitioned it last week alleging contract violation by the striking drivers and unions and had obtained interim relief with the court directing the unions not to stop those who wished to ply their taxis through the aggregators. The court has given the companies time to hold negotiations with their driver-partners and scheduled the next hearing for February 28.

Spokespersons for Ola and Uber said the disruption in services was over and taxis were now available, but did not convey how the matter had been settled.

But for drivers like Negi who are back on the road, the decision is more out of compulsion than of their own free will. With car loans to pay and no other source of income, they say they had no choice. “What can we do?” asked Negi. “At the end of the day, we have to feed our families, manage school fees for the children and pay instalments for the car loan.”

With many such disgruntled driver-partners, there is every possibility of the unsettled dispute taking on a bigger shape in the days to come.

Dissatisfied drivers

Many drivers decided to return to work after receiving text messages from the companies in the past 10 days. Some of the messages the driver-partners shared with Scroll.in contained links to news articles or claims that over 90% of drivers had already resumed their duties. Others received reminders on their car loan instalments, media reports said.

“We have resumed duty not because we are convinced but we have no other option,” said Keshav Kumar, a driver-partner with both Ola and Uber. “So far, we have received no formal communication on any negotiation or changes in the pattern of rates and incentives. The absence of an organised union has worked in the company’s favour but that does not mean they can keep exploiting us for long.”

Another driver-partner, Lovkesh Sharma, said he would not back down. “I am not part of any union but I will not operate until the companies agree to negotiate with us,” he said.

Sharma came to know about the strike through an informal network of drivers and readily became a party to it. “I had every reason to protest,” he said. “The company had earlier promised us a minimum income of Rs 1 lakh per month. Though we never achieved that target, we still made a decent income till six months ago. But with time, the companies kept changing their incentive pattern for every driver and with that our incomes have reduced to such an extent that we fail to save anything after paying all dues, including instalment for the car loans.”

Their demands

The demands of the drivers include higher per-kilometre rates – which are currently between Rs 6 and Rs 4 per kilometer, lower than the rates charged by autorickshaws – and better incentives. Some of them claimed they got no share of the steep surcharges that apply during peak hours. They also complained of the 20%-25% company commissions deducted from their daily earnings.

The safety of drivers is another issue. Many recalled the death of Uber driver Nazrul Islam after a speeding BMW crashed into his taxi in South Delhi on January 22.

Others spoke about the arbitrary nature of incentives and lack of transparency in the system of penalising drivers on the basis of customer complaints.

The lack of an organised structure for drivers within the aggregator companies is also a sticking point. Last week, Scroll.in had reported that this absence of a formal structure had pushed the drivers to organise themselves by drawing on informal networks.

For the Sarvodaya Driver Association of Delhi, the list of demands includes removal of the share/pool facility that enables passengers to travel at reasonable rates by agreeing to share a ride with other passengers. The association has also sought the Delhi government’s intervention even though the state’s regulatory policies do not apply to the aggregators.

As far as negotiations are concerned, spokespersons for both Uber and Ola said the companies had not issued any notification in this regard. They maintained the aggregators were mere technology providers and the drivers were entrepreneurs and not technically employees. They added that those who had resumed work had done it of their own will.

(Names of driver-partners changed on request)