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In what will come as a relief for Ola and Uber users in Tamil Nadu, the strike called by drivers of the app-based platforms ended on Wednesday afternoon. Union representatives of the drivers are likely to meet Tamil Nadu’s Home (Transport) Secretary and Transport Commissioner on Friday, seeking the State government’s intervention to regulate the aggregators.
The two-day strike was called to urge the State government to immediately implement the Motor Aggregator Rule, which was introduced in 2019, to regulate cab aggregators. The drivers also urged the State government to urge the cab aggregators, including Ola, Uber, Red Taxi, Porter and FastTrack, to reduce the commission paid by the drivers to 10 per cent, from the current 30 per cent.
Nearly 10-15 per cent of the nearly 20,000 drivers of the app-based aggregators are learnt to have participated in the strike. Local travel operators also supported the cause of the striking drivers.
The drivers urged the government to ensure that they are not delisted by the cab aggregators unilaterally, V Kuppusamy, State President of the Tamil Nadu Road Transport Workers’ Federation, which is part of the Delhi-based All India Road Transport Workers’ Federation (AITWF), told businessline.
The strike left thousands of passengers across the State stranded. For instance, K Anant, who was returning to Chennai from the US early on Wednesday morning, had a tough time at the airport. He was unable to get either an Ola or a Uber, as drivers of both apps were on strike. He had to take an auto, paying three times the normal rate.
A large number of employees working in various sectors had a similar issue. For employees in the IT sector, the hybrid model came in handy as many opted for work from home.
R. Lakshmaiah, General Secretary of the AIRTWF, said the issue was not confined to Tamil Nadu but across India. Drivers attached to app-based platforms such as Uber, Ola, Rapido and Porter face many problems. “The companies are squeezing the blood of the drivers and looting the public,” he said in a memorandum submitted by the Federation to Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, recently.
The federation also urged the Minister to enact a Social Security Act for unorganised Road Transport Workers, develop and operate an alternative app to Uber/ Ola; amendment of the M.V Act Amendment 2019 to protect the industry and the workers, and the State Transport Units should be strengthened and expanded.
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