An Uber office in the United States (illustration) -

Seth Wenig / AP / SIPA

Seattle, in the northwest of the United States, decided on Tuesday to implement a minimum wage for Uber and Lyft drivers.

A policy considered as destructive of jobs according to the two leaders of the reservation of cars with driver (VTC).

It is the second American city to take this type of measure, after New York, where minimum pay came into effect in 2019. “The pandemic has exposed the loopholes in our system of worker protection, leaving many of them , especially drivers on the front lines, without a safety net, ”said Jenny Durkan, mayor of Seattle, in a statement.

Seattle unanimously passes minimum wage for Uber and Lyft drivers https://t.co/958Wp6Jk0u

- o ... k (@kateconger) September 29, 2020

From January 2021

The decision of her municipality will make it possible to "ensure that the drivers are correctly paid and can take care of their families", she added.

From January 2021, Seattle VTC drivers will need to earn at least $ 16.39 per hour.

"It is a carbon copy of New York law," commented a spokesperson for Uber.

In New York, this policy "has reduced job opportunities for drivers and raised prices for users," notes a letter from Uber to the city of Seattle in mid-September.

The company explains that it had to reduce the access of drivers to the platform in the event of low demand.

As a result, "thousands of them have lost access to their jobs," the group assures us.

At the same time, "the average price of a ride in New York has increased by 30% in one year" (between January 2019 and January 2020), according to Uber.

“The number of trips continued to grow in wealthier communities but fell in poorer neighborhoods,” the company continues.

Another standoff for Uber

"The city plan is deeply problematic and will in reality destroy jobs for thousands of people - up to 4,000 drivers just for Lyft - and push the VTC out of Seattle", reacted on his side a spokesperson from Lyft.

Uber has no plans to challenge the new regulations in court at this time.

It is already engaged in an arm wrestling with California, where the law requires since last January to the companies of VTC to give to their drivers the status of employees, and not of independents.

Uber and its American competitor Lyft see themselves as technological platforms, which connect drivers, self-employed, and passengers, and not as transport companies.

California elected officials intend to force them to grant social benefits to their drivers, who often work in precarious conditions.

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