Because the government is taking too long, Brussels Taxi Fed, the Collectif des Travailleurs du Taxi and Ingoboka-Taxi are now coming up with their own Taxi plan. One of its proposals is to hire 600 Uber drivers from mainstream companies like Victor Cab, a mobile application founded in 2018 by Khalid Ed-Denguir, who is now also a director at FebeT, the Belgian taxi federation. There is therefore enough space for Uber drivers who are called up to work for Brussels companies where there is currently a major shortage of drivers.

question

The central issue is whether we should not guard against Uber leaving, as many drivers work exclusively for Uber as false self-employed. “The ideal of Uber does not start from the drivers, but from self-driving cars.Prime Minister Rudi Vervoort (PS) hit the nail on the head with this statement. By the way, there is no need to support the American Uber as they do not call themselves a 'real' employer but a platform. According to Sam Bouchal, spokesperson for the Brussels Taxi Federation, the number of drivers who work full-time as drivers for the platform is estimated at around 600 to 700 people. He invites them to come and work for them. With a real contract and social protection. Taxiplan was supposed to be in place by the summer of 2021, but that did not work out. 

taxi plan

Already in 2017, the Brussels government approved a regulatory framework for taxi services with the idea of ​​aligning different taxi services. From platforms such as Uber to the regular taxis of Taxi Verts. In the meantime, Prime Minister Rudi Vervoort (PS) has taken over that file, but he seems less keen on the idea of ​​equalizing the taxi services. Vervoort does not seem very supportive of the American tech company's model.

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During the article let bruzz.be know that taxi drivers protested against what they call the uberization of the taxi sector. Vervoort's predecessor Pascal Smet saw another place for Uber and similar platforms. Now the Uber model is being attacked in court from different angles and politicians would rather not burn their fingers. The taxi federation Febet is suing the license used by Uber drivers. According to that permit, the driver is actually only allowed to transport one customer per three-hour period. He must also earn at least 90 euros per ride. Uber circumvents those regulations through a company, the Platform Rider Association (FOR)

“If Uber leaves tomorrow, the drivers will be empty-handed. Is that acceptable? A foreign private entrepreneur who can leave in no time? ”

driver shortage

The specialist division of the ACV trade union, Riders Association, assists an Uber driver who claims he is an employee, not a self-employed person. A similar case was brought up in September in the Netherlands by the trade union FNV . gewonnen. The judge's ruling in the case brought by the FNV trade union against taxi company Uber is a major victory for drivers' rights. That is what the union says in a first response, after the judge ruled in the union's favour.

Zakaria Boufangacha, Vice-President FNV: “Thethis statement shows what we have been saying for years: Uber is an employer and the drivers are employees, so Uber must adhere to the collective labor agreement for Taxi Transport. It is also a signal that these types of constructions are illegal and that the law must therefore be enforced.”

The sector has indeed been struggling with a staff shortage for a long time, agrees Wim Faber, editor-in-chief of Magazine Passenger Transport and expert on the taxi market, in the same article. “In many countries you see a shortage of taxi drivers. The staff shortage has worsened during the corona crisis. Many drivers have started looking for other jobs, such as truck drivers or parcel deliverers.Faber finds Bouchal's model interesting, although policymakers will have to take into account the training that Uber drivers have to follow to be able to work as a taxi driver.

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Also read: FNV wins: Uber must hire drivers

Brussels taxi at the stand
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