Ola, Uber drivers' strike: Good news for Mumbai but how long Delhi-NCR will suffer? 10 points

The ongoing strike of Ola and Uber drivers had been called off in Mumbai. Yje strike had been called off after the MNS transport union has met Uber officials on Thursday.

MNS union leader Sanjay Naik told media that the Uber officials seemed to be positive on some of the demands including reinstating the blacklisted drivers who did not have criminal records. 

“As for the driver earnings and incentives, the Uber officials said they will discuss the issue with the All India head and come back to MNS on the issue within 15 days.,” said union leader Nitin Nandgaonkar.

Over the entore episode, Uber said, “We met with a delegation of driver partners and continue to engage with driver partners on a one-on-one basis. We have heard their concerns and taken note of the feedback. We remain committed to serving the city, ensuring driver partners can continue to access stable earning opportunities, while giving riders a convenient option to get around Maharashtra.”

But as Mumbaikars had sigh of relief, commuters in Delhi-NCR braced themselves for a complete shutdown. 

Below we have listed 10 points regarding the latest developments and information related to the matter: 

1. The Sarvodaya Drivers Association, union in the NCR, informed that Ola and Uber cabs will not ply in Delhi-NCR on Friday as they will protest against the unfair policies of Ola and Uber. 

2. Just like their Mumbai counterparts, the taxi drivers in Delhi-NCR are demanding better compensation and some efficient changes concerning verification and streamlining of shared duties.

3. However, the good news for the Delhi-NCR commuters is that the full shut down will be of 24 hours.

“We are carrying out a large scale protest against the aggregators as they are paying one-third of the promised amount to the drivers. Hence, to press our demands further, the union has decided to stop operations temporarily for 24 hours,” Kamaljeet Gill, president of the union said.

4. Meanwhile, Uber denied any disruption of services in Delhi-NCR region. A spokesperson for Uber said, “There is no disruption to the service in Delhi-NCR, at this point. We are committed to serving the city, ensuring driver-partners can continue to access a stable income while giving riders a convenient, reliable option to get around Delhi-NCR.”

5. Ola also joined Uber and denied any shut down, adding that the company got to know about the protests from the media reports and not from the associations. 

6. The strike announcement came after Mumbai Ola drivers called it off on Wednesday and Uber drivers, as mentioned above, rolled it back on Thursday. 

7. MNS, in a statement on Thursday, said the Uber management, during their talks with the police and the wing's representatives had given a written commitment on meeting the various demands. These include a relook at drivers blacklisted by the taxi aggregator and putting up stickers in Marathi on Uber cabs.

8. Not just the customers, the strike also took a hit upon the drivers' earnings. However, defending the move, one of the union member said,  “We are aware of the loss drivers are incurring because of the strike. But this is also necessary for sustained earnings.”

9.On March 19, drivers of Uber and Ola went on an indefinite strike to protest "low profit margins".It is estimated that over 45,000 app-based cabs operate in the financial capital alone.

10. Ola and Uber, during the time of their launch, had offered lucrative incentives on earnings and owning a car but eventually those were minimalised, over which the cab aggregators said that the incentives were never meant to be permanent.