The GMB trades union has called for an urgent inquiry into the dealings between the Conservative Party and the ride hailing app company Uber. According to a statement released by the union, the cosy relationship between the government and Uber may have crossed a certain line.
Referring to revelations in the Daily Mail last week about the way former PM David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne had been schmoozed by Uber, a statement from the union said, “Revelations today suggest David Cameron and George Osborne’s contact with former senior executives at Uber may have been too close for comfort.
“If true, they prove the government’s positive words about self-employed and working people are nothing more than hot air.”
The GMB has launched actions on behalf of staff working for Uber and a number of delivery companies, saying that the nature of their work constitutes employment as opposed to self-employment. Just yesterday Apex Insight reported how the GMB had taken on the cause of a number of delivery drivers who work for a third party agency that delivers for Amazon.
The statement from the GMB continued, “Good local knowledgeable taxi drivers are being forced out of business as their towns and cities are flooded by out of town drivers on ‘dodgy licenses’ and tied to bogus self-employment contracts.
“Meanwhile great places like Brighton, Bath, Southend, Leeds, Manchester, Reading, Liverpool and many others are descending into “Wild West” frontiers – with touting and illegal ply for hire activities now common place thanks to legislation forced through by the Cameron government in 2015.”
Speaking of the allegedly cosy behaviour between Uber and the government, Mick Rix spokesman for the GMB said, “Today’s revelations, if true, blow the lid off rumours that have been circulating privately for some time; that companies like Uber bought the heart of UK Tory government and had favourable legislation passed.
“The Deregulation Act 2015 allowed Uber and other operators to flood the taxi market and create a ‘wild west’ situation in the streets of our towns and cities throughout the UK.
“The government has virtually dragged the good name of the taxi trade into the gutter.
“Now know why – it was all done on behalf of their cronies at Uber.
“We call on the authorities to launch a full and independent inquiry into this shocking business, where UK government sold themselves to a company, because of personal friendships.”
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