The GMB union is taking ride-hailing app Bolt to an employment tribunal, claiming that drivers should have access to rights including minimum age and holiday pay, as the drivers go on strike.
According to a report in the FT, the union will argue that the Estonian-based app’s drivers should be recognised as workers under UK employment law and they should therefore have the same rights to minimum wage, holiday pay, pensions and other benefits that were granted to Uber’s drivers following a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year.
In the Uber judgment, which has significant implications for other gig economy companies, the court’s panel unanimously ruled that Uber drivers are considered “workers” – not self-employed as Uber had argued. Bolt classifies its drivers as self-employed.
Mick Rix, GMB’s national officer, told the FT that it informed Bolt that it would have no other option to launch a tribunal claim on behalf of drivers unless it agreed to negotiate a voluntary recognition agreement that included collective bargaining and voluntary worker status.
A Bolt spokesperson said: “We regularly engage with drivers across the UK who say they like our existing model because it gives them the opportunity to earn more.
“There is huge demand across the sector and all operators will need to keep improving their offer to encourage drivers to use their platform. Because of this Bolt will be launching new driver features and campaigns which we know appeal to drivers soon.
“Bolt has an open dialogue with the GMB and will continue to speak with them directly.”
Meanwhile, members of the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU), which was set up by Yaseen Aslam and James Farrar – the lead claimants in the Uber case – are staging a 24-hour strike today (15 June) and demo against Bolt’s “failure to respect basic worker rights”.
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In 2021 the ADCU launched its own worker rights claim against Bolt at the Central London employment tribunal, which has been joined by 800 ADCU members. The union claims the app owes drivers £0.5 billion in back pay for minimum wage and holiday pay.
The drivers want to see a fare increase from £1.42 per mile and £0.13 per minute to £2.50 per mile and £0.20 per minute, as they claimed they have faced additional operating costs as the price of fuel and vehicle costs rise.
The drivers are also striking over Bolt’s alleged dismissals without right of appeal and the company’s refusal to cooperate with driver requests for access to personal data and algorithmic transparency.
Bolt drivers have staged numerous workers’ rights protests in the past few years.
ADCU president Aslam said: “Bolt’s investors have become fabulously wealthy on the back of worker abuse and tax avoidance. Despite their reliance on a public license to operate in the UK, Bolt has unashamedly become the unacceptable face of capitalism with behaviour almost worse even than Uber’s.
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“Bolt has hung the workforce out to dry by leaving them exposed to fuel and other operating cost inflation but without any pay increase or supplement. Drivers have now reached breaking point which is why they have gone on strike and are asking the travelling public to support their demand for fair pay and fair treatment.”
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