Uber Technologies Inc's chief executive on March 23 called on US President Donald Trump to include independent drivers and delivery workers in the country's planned US$1tril coronavirus stimulus package and urged US lawmakers to change labour laws in the long term.
Lawmakers in Washington are discussing a deal to pump more than US$1tril into the economy to limit the economic damage caused by the coronavirus health crisis, in addition to the hundreds of billions of dollars in fiscal and monetary stimulus that has already been deployed to prop up the world's largest economy.
The Trump administration is also considering a plan to send checks to individual Americans and families to help them weather the crisis, although details of the proposal remained to be worked out by Congress.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in a letter to the president said the rights of so-called gig workers, who are currently not included in the federal aid proposal, had to be strengthened.
He also called on lawmakers from both parties to pass new laws that would allow independent contractors to be provided with more benefits without classifying them employees.
"My goal in writing to you is not to ask for a bailout for Uber, but rather for support for independent workers and, once we move past the immediate crisis, the opportunity to legally provide them with a real safety net going forward," Khosrowshahi said in the letter.
The status of Uber's drivers and delivery workers as independent contractors is crucial to the company's business model, as Uber is not required to pay for health insurance and other employee benefits.
As contractors, Uber drivers are generally also not entitled to workers' compensation and unemployment insurance.
California, the most populous US state, in January implemented a law that makes it harder for gig economy companies to classify their workers as contractors.
Uber and other companies, including smaller rival Lyft Inc and food delivery companies, oppose the law, saying their workers cherished the flexibility that comes with on-demand work. Uber, Lyft and Doordash have earmarked US$90mil for a planned November 2020 ballot initiative that would exempt them from the California law.
Khosrowshahi in his March 23 letter called on the federal government and state governors to update labour laws, establishing what he called a "third way" that would grant gig economy workers more protection and benefits without classifying them as employees.
- Reuters
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