Lawyers have hailed a court ruling in favour of a former UberPop driver as a breakthrough for workers’ rights in Switzerland. Last week, a Lausanne employment tribunal ruled that the driver was unfairly dismissed by the ride-hailing company.
This content was published on
2 minutes
swissinfo.ch/mga
The court confirmed that the driver was an employee of Uber and should enjoy the same rights as a taxi driver who has a contract with the taxi company. The case has been reported by the SonntagsZeitung and Le Matin Dimanche newspapers as the first such ruling in Switzerland.
The driver worked 50.2 hours per week for the Uber Dutch subsidiary Rasier Operations between April 2015 and December 2016, reported the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA.
The driver was dismissed after complaints were made against him. But the Lausanne court ruled that the complainant had not been given a fair chance to respond to the accusations.
Raiser must now pay the former driver, who lives in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, CHF18,000 ($17,700) in compensation for unfair dismissal and for missed holiday entitlements, it is reported.
Uber differs from other taxi firms primarily in that it does not own cars or directly employ drivers, but connects passengers and vehicles via its app. But this arrangement has been sharply criticised by trade unions as violating employment laws.
“This case is very important,” the complainant’s lawyer told the newspapers. “The decision may motivate many people to ask for the same thing. Hundreds of drivers in Switzerland could also assert their rights.”
Uber could appeal the ruling, but if it becomes final the company may be obliged to pay social security contributions, accident insurance, sick days and holidays for the drivers, according to the newspaper reports.
More
More
Uber recognised as professional ‘call centre’ in Lausanne
This content was published on
The controversial ride-hailing app service Uber now operates with professional drivers and is recognised as a “call centre” in the Lausanne area.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss court finds in favour of Uber
This content was published on
Zurich’s Social Security Court has found that Uber drivers in Switzerland are not employed by a Swiss firm; they have a contract with a Dutch one.
Swiss bike couriers take out protection against Uber Eats
This content was published on
The courier employer’s association Swissmessengerlogistics (SML) negotiated the contract with the trade union SyndicomExternal link on Tuesday. It guarantees a minimum hourly wage of CHF 20.35 ($20.40), regulated surcharges, on-call services, schedules within a 42.5-hour week and paternity leave. The deal is being hailed as the first of its type among the urban courier industry…
This content was published on
Uber is present in Zurich, Basel, Geneva and Lausanne with 300,000 regular customers and some 2,600 drivers in Switzerland, Salom told SonntagsBlick. But it has also run into some difficulties with local authorities, trade unions and taxi drivers who complain of unfair competition. “Yes, we made mistakes. We wanted to grow too fast, we were…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.