Uber Facilitates Its Drivers With Special Beneficiaries For Job Security

Uber, one of the best taxi dispatcher, has always been a newsmaker. Sometimes setting a benchmark in the gig economy and sometimes transforming other On- demand services. Sometimes being in the news for treating its drivers as independent contractors or sometimes transforming their taxi services by promoting the idea of driverless cab experience. Uber is everywhere in the news.

Recently, Uber managed to be in the spotlight by declaring about how it is going to make its relationship with Uber drivers stronger and better. The reason why Uber is doing so is mainly because it has undergone a major loss in the recent times. This mainly happened because Uber is a new corporation that has grown not because of its quirks and special facilities but also because of the high investment capital taken for it. Uber doesn’t disclose its financial details.

As per Bloomberg report, Uber lost at least $1.2 Billion in the first half of this year. If the reports are accurate, this loss has been majorly due to the costs incurred over subsidies that Uber provides to its drivers. Why Uber is playing it very intelligently towards its drivers is mainly because just like passengers, it is facing a tough competition for drivers too. The toughest competition arises from Lyft, after all, all these services need drivers mainly. Uber also spends enough of its money in offering discounts to passengers, increasing its market shares and thereby making their service more attractive to drivers.

To be the best in this competitive taxi industry, Uber is working day and night to keep its existing drivers satisfied and attracting new drivers. Recently, Uber announced a collaboration with Stride Health, which is a primary health care broker for workers working in the gig economy as freelancers who don’t have access to benefits of full-time employment. Stride offers Uber drivers access to private health care for two years. Now Uber has also released a cab driver app that helps them log their mileage and other expenses for increasing tax deductions.

Stride tracks the location of drivers immediately as they log in their accounts. It also plugs directly into their bank account, so the details get tracked including other expenses and income. This gives a rough idea about how much the drivers are earning and how many opportunities they’re missing. Also, this app suggests how to maximize the drivers’ take-home income.

Uber also collaborated with another platform, “Betterment”, in terms of retirement planning. Uber drivers who have an account with Betterment have their fees waived for the first year and then they get charged at a rate of 0.25%. Also, another collaboration that Uber had was with a labor union that asked New York drivers to come up with their complaints on a regular basis.  

Uber has been highly criticized by its drivers for not offering a full-time employment even after being treated as full-time employees. The drivers are treated as freelancers and lack the natural benefits of full-time employees. The lives of drivers get very difficult with fluctuating rates in gases, fare rates depending on the cab rides per day and changes in rates as per the company’s decisions. The Uber drivers had protested for full-time employment opportunities instead of independent contractorship. They mainly demand an opportunity that lets them serve the company in the best way possible and also adds money to their pockets.

A driver once quoted that all these tie-ups and collaborations are definitely very beneficial. He said that one of the best feature in Uber cab app for drivers is the “Instant Pay” feature that allows workers to collect their money immediately after they’ve earned it instead of waiting for a longer time for the weekly bank deposits.

Considering all these beneficiary plans collectively, all of them are implemented in a way that workers enjoy full-time employment. Now the drivers can easily file taxes, participate in employer-based retirement plans and also in many cases, utilize the right to unionize. Yet many Uber clone script based apps and Uber argue that their drivers are not employees, but Independent contractors.

This has definitely enhanced a growth in Uber’s development but created an atmosphere of chaos as the drivers protested to be called as full-time employees, questioning Uber’s model of treatment of employees.

Uber is though now dreaming of touching the highest level of transformation industry by collaborating with automated car makers, says that it will not affect the lives of drivers. Automated cab services by Uber will not have to deal with issues like Unions, health care, retirement policies and other employment beneficiaries. The Uber CEO says that it will not threaten the drivers’ jobs.

One of the reasons why drivers will not be affected is because, as per the rules of states, it is essential that a driverless car is accompanied by a trained driver in case of any emergency. The rule is such because people are very conscious about their safety and therefore, they don’t easily trust a driverless car. This concern forces the state to implement a rule such that a driverless car should have a driver. In fact, Uber is planning for two drivers per cab to assure customer service at its best.

This employment of drivers will not affect even if driverless cab services take place in near future. Also, the automated car makers and Uber have said that the process of implementing this car service is under process, it has many challenges and also is likely to take a high amount of time in order to get the best model possible. Till the making of this car takes place, drivers can freely work without stress rather than worrying about their loss of jobs.

No matter what profits and losses Uber undergoes, it is essential for them to treat their drivers anyway, as these drivers are the ones who are pushing the business forward by serving the company. Uber has also finally planned to declare its drivers as employees and not as independent contractors anymore.