Uber is continuing to operate in spite of a court order in April that suspended its activities in Argentina.
The taxi drivers are members of the ITF affiliate FNSCT ((Federación Nacional de Sindicatos de Conductores de Taxis), which said that the day after Uber began operations in Argentina in April, the court of justice ordered the company to suspend its activities.
The court based its ruling on the fact that Uber’s app-based service could enable tax evasion and the use of drivers without professional licenses and public transport insurance. It established a fine of USD5,000 for every vehicle that disobeys its decision but Uber continues running the service.
FNSCT general secretary Jose Ibarra said: “Our struggle is for all drivers who are being affected in the major cities in Argentina. The judges heard our demands and have promised to resolve this situation as soon as possible.
"We received solidarity messages from ITF taxi drivers' unions around the world. This shows that we are not alone and that we are on the right path. As Argentinian taxi drivers, we are giving an example of how to fight Uber."
Antonio Rodriguez Fritz, ITF Americas regional secretary, commented that the ITF was backing taxi drivers globally due to the lack of legality of companies like Uber which affect workers and passenger safety. He welcomed the decisive and strong posture of Argentina’s taxi workers and their federation, and hoped the Argentinian authorities would determine the illegality of the service and be an example to other governments in the region.
The FNSCT was one of the ITF unions from around the world that met recently to explore a common approach to tackling the ‘Ubernomics’ threat to workers. Read more.
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