Over a hundred Uber drivers gathered outside the company's headquarters in Etterbeek to protest working conditions on Tuesday morning. Their primary concern is Uber's commission.
Around 10:00, the sound of car horns filled Boulevard Louis Schmidt, while protest signs read: "Our kilometres, your billions: where’s our share?"
Parked outside the headquarters, the drivers condemned their “untenable” working conditions, highlighting Uber’s variable commission, which can peak at 35% on the most lucrative trips.
"With rising fuel prices, increased insurance costs, and driver expenses, the math just doesn’t work out," said Asmaa Snaibi, General Secretary and spokesperson for the Union of Belgian Limousine Drivers (UCLB). The UCLB demands the commission be reduced to 15%, labelling the current rate as excessive and punitive.
Drivers also called for the immediate removal of the "Trip Radar" system, introduced last summer. This system offers rides to multiple drivers simultaneously until an algorithm assigns the trip to one of them.
"In about 90% of cases, given the high number of drivers, we don’t get the ride. Trip Radar keeps us on edge, creates frustration, fosters unfair competition, and significantly cuts our income," added the UCLB spokesperson.
Lastly, the protesters criticised Uber for arbitrarily disconnecting drivers without formal complaints to the relevant authorities. "Uber should not act as law enforcement or the judiciary by unilaterally suspending drivers," they asserted.
