Uber and Bolt Drivers strike on Valentine’s Day

One union says that thousands of Uber, Bolt and Edison Lee drivers are logging in a campaign for better salary and working position during peak hours on Valentine’s Day.

The strike proceedings are taking place across Britain from 16:00 to 22:00 GMT.

The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) stated that it would “unite the country with low salary and unprotected circumstances”.

Uber, Bolt and Edison and Lee have defended their working conditions, when IWGB stated that drivers in cities, including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Brighton, have supported the strike.

Vasilika Dumitrsku has been working for various platforms including Uber and Bolt for the last nine years. The 51 -year -old said that she works seven days a week, more than 80 hours away, just to meet finally.

“This is actually economically bad, emotionally physically, everything,” said Ms. Dumitrsku.

“I can’t take the risk of making bills, rent, food, which is very expensive now. It is really, really bad.”

Ms. Dumitrasku said that she hopes that the strike will have more pay agreements.

“Customer, they are with us,” he said. “Every driver is upset because they do not earn enough. They ask you how much you get from this journey and we wonder how little we get.”

A Uber spokesperson said that all its drivers are guaranteed to earn the least national living, and that the majority can earn more and earn more.

“On average, drivers in Britain earn more than £ 30 per hour while traveling on Uber,” the spokesperson said.

“They have industry-agron safety such as holiday pay, a pension and free illness and injury cover as well as formal representation through GMB Union.”

A spokesperson of Bolt said that the company was “committed to ensuring our prices, which balances drivers with strength for travelers”.

The spokesperson said, “All drivers get a leisure pay and monetary dose to ensure that they earn a minimum of national wages along with pension.”

Edison Lee has been approached for comment. The company had earlier told the PA News Agency: “We have close work relations with our drivers, which were more reinforced in our recent two-year-old driver satisfaction survey. We were in volume or service levels on 14 February Do not expect to see the disruption.

In September 2024, Bolt drivers won claim against company A employment tribunal ruled that he was “laborers” under Britain’s law and deserved rights and security including national minimum wages.

In January 2025, Edison Li drivers won a similar case.

Helio Santos, which is located in Stratford in East London, is another driver who is participating in the strike.

He has been driving with Uber for three years and said that when he spends 70 to 80 hours per week, it is often translated by just 25 to 30 hours.

Mr. Santos said that Friday’s strike action shows that the drivers in the UK are “reaching the braking point”.

“It’s unstable,” he said. “Fees are very low, no security, no transparency. Uber keeps ignoring us.”

Mr. Santos, who has three children at the age of four, said that Uber’s promise of national living wages was “meaningless”.

He said, “It is joking us, drivers get a living wage. I would be better to work for a cleaning company,” he said.

IWGB said that since the drivers became “workers” under the law, they said that their conditions had deteriorated.

With demands for fair salary and more secure work, the union is calling for the introduction of safety measures for drivers such as rider ID verification, complaint tracking system, and support for the victims of the attack.

A Bolt spokesman said that the company has done € 100 meter (£ 83.3m) in the next three years to support the safety initiative for its drivers. In recent years, it has introduced an in-app Emergency Assist button and provided additional passenger information before pick-up, the spokesperson said.

The part of Friday’s action will include a vigilance for the bolt driver Bringing Gabriel, killed in 2021 in Tottenham in North London,

The 37 -year -old Mr. Loyy was set by a group of teenagers in a crime race, who booked the cab with the only intention of robbing the driver.

IWGB said that vigilance is four years after his death, and drivers are demanding better security in his name.