The Western Cape E-hailing Association (WCEA) has refuted claims regarding a planned strike by e-hailing drivers scheduled for Monday. A social media post went viral over the weekend claiming drivers from Uber, Bolt, and Indrive will down tools.
Bush Radio News spoke to the association’s spokesperson,
Omar Parker, who confirmed it had not officially called for any protest or
strike action, although it supports the grievances being raised by those in the
industry.
‘’Whilst we understand and identify with the pain and suffering
of operators, and especially drivers in the e-hailing sector who are facing continued
exploitation and abuse by the app companies, we have not officially called for
any striker action. We most certainly support their legitimate demands that are
being advance by any group either they embark on a strike action or not.’’
‘’We also realise that given the growing frustrations
across the country, strike action will become inevitable especially given the
arrogance and reluctance on the part of the app companies to meet the
reasonable demands/concerns of drivers and operators. This untenable/intolerable
situation is further worsen by the government’s lack of political will to
intervene particularly in respect of regulating fair pricing to ensure decent
earnings and fair labour practices for all. We further believe that the strike weapon
still remains a legitimate tactic to advance our struggle, but any form the
strike/protest action must be employed/used in a responsible manner,’’ added
Parker.
According to Parker, the WCEA and other ‘sister
organisations; has not seen change in conditions for its driver/operators/
‘’Indeed, our past fragmented protest/strike actions have
raised public awareness but the foreign app companies continue to do as they
please. Our knee-jerk reactions and responses with our fragmented
strike/protest actions in the different regions/provinces over past period have
not been effective enough.’’
‘’We are not calling on any group to seize or give up on
their constitutional right to embark peaceful protest action. However, as WCEA
we will rather use our energies to mobilised for a national week of action that
is planned and properly coordinated on a national level. Like the app companies
our government must also be held accountable for their complacency in our
continued exploitation and abuse,’’ he added.
Parker says the WCEA support their call made by mother
body, the National E-hailing Federation of South Africa (NEFSA) for a national
coordinated programme of mass action.
‘’We further call upon our members not to allow themselves
to be divided or to be confused by any further knee-jerk reactions that seeks
to address the present crisis in a piece-meal fashion.’’
Done By: Mitchum George
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