HC slams drivers’ unions for inciting violence as various incidents of vandalism were reported during the stir in the city
The Ola-Uber drivers’ strike, going on for the last 10 days, was finally called off on Friday after the Delhi High Court (HC) pulled up the drivers’ unions for inciting violence in the region. Several incidents of vandalism were reported during the strike, in which drivers stopped other cabs from plying and damaged vehicles.
Earlier this week, a group of protesters had set a cab on fire in Ghaziabad. The union’s representatives, however, denied any role in the vandalism incidents reported over the last few days. This despite the fact that during the strike, the drivers’ unions had said they would block roads and government vehicles, if their demands were not met.
The HC order came in the wake of Ola and Uber approaching the court. The two app-based cab service providers said that despite the court orders restraining the drivers’ unions from blocking or interfering with the services, several incidents of violence were reported.
In the order, the HC said the drivers’ unions have to ‘get it out of their head’ that they can ‘extract’ something from these companies by agitations, as they do with the government.
According to the drivers, they were promised that by attaching with the aggregators, they would be able to earn up to Rs 1.25 lakh a month, but then the commission to be paid to the companies was increased to 25 per cent and the drivers’ incentives were cancelled. As a result, their earnings dropped to as low as Rs 25,000-30,000.
The strike called by the Sarvodaya Driver Association of Delhi (SDAD) and the Rajdhani Tourist Drivers’ Union had put thousands of commuters in distress in the Capital. A series of talks between the government and the cab-hailing service companies also failed. Around 1.5 lakh cabs under the two app-based taxi aggregators ply in the Delhi-NCR region.
The 10-day hiatus, however, laid bare the failure of the government in providing a robust public transport system to the commuters. The government was supposed to come up with a fresh policy to fix the rate slabs and working conditions for private cab drivers but commuters have been at the receiving end of the delay.
Even on Friday, the number of cabs available remained limited. “I paid Rs 150 to the autorickshaw driver for going from Mayur Vihar to ITO, which is otherwise a Rs 70 ride. This is such a pain. I hope the strike is over for real,” commuter Anisha Khatri said.
Meanwhile, the unions’ representatives remained unavailable for comments.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "uber-strike")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}