Toronto ride-share, food delivery workers strike to demand fair wages and better working conditions

Dozens of Toronto truck drivers and food delivery drivers staged a strike Wednesday, calling for fairer wages and better treatment after finding that some drivers were making well below Ontario's minimum wage.

Inside joint report Ridefair Toronto and the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario (RDAO) announced Monday that some drivers are charging Uber $33.35 an hour, based on data from the end of 2023, which only represents the time a rider is in the car. Some drivers and advocates say Uber and Lyft provide misleading data about driver wages.

The report claims that some drivers using ride-hailing services such as Uber or Lyft earn $6.37 to $10.60 an hour after estimated operating costs, excluding tips based on data collected from tolls. The study examined 96 examples of weekly wage payments from Toronto drivers — a small fraction of the city's more than 50,000 licensed driver operators — all of whom said they did not meet the province's minimum wage standards.

“Our findings for Toronto are consistent with recent estimates of driver hourly earnings in California ($6.20/hr), Seattle ($9.63/hr) and Denver ($5.49/hr), as well as the Toronto Transportation corresponds to the reports of the drivers,” he said. said JJ Fuser, co-author of the report and researcher at Ridefair Toronto, an advocacy group that calls for fairer regulation of the ride-hailing industry.

“After expenses, none of the 96 weekly paychecks given to us by the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario met Ontario's minimum wage standards; in many cases, the drivers lost their money,” Fuser added.

Uber denies the reported earnings, saying the methodology is problematic.

“Cherry-picking 96 weekly revenue statements from tens of millions of rides is a poor approach,” said Kirtana Rang, a spokeswoman for Uber Canada, in an email to CBC News.

“In November, average earnings were $33.35 per hour spent in Toronto.”

CBC News has reached out to Lyft for comment.

Proposed minimum wage standard 'changes nothing': lawyers

The report also looked at Uber's policy proposal to the Ontario provincial government — a separate minimum wage standard set at 120% for gig workers.

Ridefair Toronto said the report “highlights Uber's poverty charge in Toronto,” adding that the proposed policy for Ontario is a “poverty trap” rather than a gig-work solution.

The ride-hailing company has proposed paying 120 percent of Ontario's minimum wage of $16.55, or about $19.86 an hour.

The report says Uber's offer would mean an average hourly minimum wage of $2.50, taking into account typical tipping rates of about 60 percent and the costs of Toronto drivers.

“It sounds attractive, but it doesn't change anything: without taking into account the cost of driving or participation rates, this policy leaves gig workers with absolutely no pay,” the report said.

“At the current participation rate, Uber's 120 percent model averages $11.92 per hour before expenses,” Fuser said in a press release Monday. “After accounting for costs, that's $2.50 at best, and there's nothing stopping earnings from falling below that level.”

Earlier this month, Lyft said it began guaranteeing drivers that it would pay at least 70 percent of the fare each week, and that it would be more specific about payments for drivers in a new earnings statement to attract more drivers.

“We are constantly working to improve the driver experience,” Lyft said in a statement to The Associated Press. Lyft says U.S. drivers earn an average of $30.68 an hour, or $23.46 an hour after expenses.

Minimum wage laws exist to protect everyone, regardless of their job, said Erla Phillips, vice-president of the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario, adding that gig workers are “falling through the cracks.”

“Toronto is known to be a very expensive place to live, and sorry, the city can't afford to have less than minimum wage for regulated workers,” he said during a protest at Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square on Wednesday.

“When asked what proportion of gig workers make less than the provincial minimum hourly wage for time worked, including expenses, that number should be zero.”

Demonstrations in Toronto, Vancouver and the USA

On Wednesday, demonstrations were held across Canada from Toronto to Vancouver and Winnipeg. However, Uber's operations were not affected by the strike on Wednesday, Rang said.

The company said it monitored the demonstrations throughout the day and claims that the number of drivers who completed the trip on Wednesday was the same as the number of drivers on the same day last week.

“These types of incidents rarely have an impact on trips, prices or driver availability,” he said. “Because the vast majority of drivers are satisfied—revenues remain strong. We also continue to take driver feedback into account, adding new safety features to the app and making several improvements, such as advance fare and destination information.”

But some drivers at the protest said hourly work was unaffordable.

As an Uber Eats driver in Toronto, Mohammed Musharraf Hossen said he earns a total of $3 from three deliveries that require a 10 to 20 kilometer drive.

“It's a tough life to make,” he told CBC News, adding that the job required out-of-pocket expenses for insurance, gas and car loan payments. “I'll do it part time, but I can't afford it now.”

Musharraf Hossen has been driving for two years and says he may quit driving soon. He said other newcomers, who work gigs at ride-hailing and delivery companies like Uber or Lyft, are on strike so they can get better pay.

“They don't care about us,” he said of the companies. “Three dollars (three dollars) for three or four orders. That's why I think they don't think about us, how we live.”

Another Uber driver who has been with the company for nearly nine years was Muhammad Kamran, who was at the protest in Toronto.

“It's sad to see people like me who spend more time than they earn,” Kamran told CBC Radio. subway morning, adds that more protection is needed given the challenges drivers face.

The strikes come as Uber shares hit record highs

Ahead of Wednesday's demonstrations, calls for a strike spread outside of Canada, with food suppliers in the US and UK also threatening to strike.

Workers say ride-hailing and food-delivery platforms charge disproportionate amounts as fares, hurting their incomes. The protests hit a record high after Uber announced a $7 billion stake in Uber.

Uber's cash flow grew to $3.4 billion in 2023 from $390 million a year ago. Shares of Lyft surged 32 percent on Wednesday after earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.

Uber said its US drivers earn an average of $33 an hour. The company also said it will allow drivers to dispute the shutdown.