Striking Uber and Bolt e-hailing drivers have called for the suspension of Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Road Infrastructure, Phalama Mamabolo, after talks with the government reached a deadlock this week.
Private Public Transport Association national e-hailing spokesperson Vhatuka Mbelengwa told Freight News that driver representatives had met with Mamabolo to ask the government to step in and regulate the sector, which he alleges is rife with exploitation and “slave wages”. On Tuesday, drivers switched off their apps to embark on a three-day strike to draw attention to their grievances. The industrial action is expected to end on Thursday.
Mamabolo said the association had drafted a memorandum, in which they were demanding that Uber, Bolt, Indriver and Didi be regulated in South Africa and for drivers’ lives to be protected.
Mamabolo told drivers that it would be handed to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula as the strike was a national issue.
“A delegation of E-hailing representatives honoured the invitation of the MEC to discuss the protest action that is currently under way and the development in the mediation process that has thus far been useless. The MEC started the meeting with an apology and admission that the mediation he had initiated had failed, and took accountability for this failure,” said Mbelengwa.
He said the MEC had blamed the failure of the mediation process on a lack of administrative capacity, unco-operative app companies and failed communication with the advocate who had been appointed as mediator.
“As an industry that has for several years expressed dissatisfaction with the state of E-hailing, we feel the reasons advanced by Mamabolo are a confirmation of a lack of appreciation of the exploitation and victimisation experienced by the E-hailing sector.”
He said the MEC had indicated that he wanted to continue with the mediation process.
“No goodwill has ever been shown by the app companies and we are not convinced he is committed to ensuring participants will be held accountable for failing to engage. We requested an official report be provided in order for us to present it to industry participants to engage upon and take an informed decision before we commit to returning to the process of mediation,” said Mbelengwa.
However, he said Mamabolo had expressed concern that if he issued a report, he could face legal action from Uber and Bolt.
“We realised he is not concerned about the impact on society or the consequences he may face for failing to serve us. The fear of legal action was expressed several times but the fear of a societal response was never expressed and we believe this is why no impactful action has been initiated by the MEC. We are not sure what mediation may yield because extensive reports that affirm our concerns as credible are available.”
Mbelengwa said a Competition Commission market enquiry had last year described e-hailing drivers wages as “slave wages” and that the SA transport system was highly unequal. The Commission recommended that the regulatory framework for E-hailing and metered taxis should be uniform to create a competitive environment.
