KOCHI: Uber and Ola cabs will remain off the road on Monday, with the online cab drivers calling for a 24-hour token strike in protest against the commission sharing system of the taxi aggregators.
The strike which will begin from Monday morning, will have the participation of all the drivers’ union, including ODU, KSMTU, NSC, OTDU, JMTU, OCDA and SEDA.The joint committee of the union has taken the decision after the government turned a blind eye to their demands. “At present, Uber is charging 26 per cent of the trip fare as commission from the drivers, which is too high. The online drivers are now struggling to find fund for paying their monthly instalments.
Though we had approached various ministers and officers, including the Chief Minister, Transport Minister, Labour Minister and Transport Commissioner, no fruitful decision has come so far. The government should intervene in implementing fixed tariff,” said Jackson Varghese, convenor of the joint protest committee.“This is the first phase our protest. The protest will be intensified in the coming days. Over 10,000 online cabs will participate in the strike,” Jackson said.