Saskatoon Dragonfly delivery drivers look to unionize amid ongoing strike - BERITAJA

The president of a national that precocious helped Uber drivers ratify a statement successful Victoria, B.C., says he was contacted by statement transportation drivers successful Saskatoon who walked disconnected the occupation past week complete what they deem unfair and unsafe moving conditions.

Dozens of drivers contracted by statement transportation institution Dragonfly, which handles packages for companies including Amazon, walked disconnected the occupation past Friday, demanding amended salary rates, much accordant scheduling and safer moving conditions.

Now, these workers opportunity they are looking to shape a national to summation their corporate powerfulness and discuss amended moving conditions pinch Dragonfly.

“There is nary use aliases immoderate authorities for us. So that’s why we are fighting,” said transportation driver Amrit Singh.

Barry Sawyer, nationalist president of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Canada, says the striking workers reached retired to Local 1400 successful Saskatoon and to the union’s nationalist agency arsenic their occupation action continues for its sixth day.

“We’re looking for ways that we could thief these workers,” Sawyer told BERITAJA successful an interview.

Just past month, about 1,000 Uber drivers successful Victoria, represented by UFCW Local 1518, ratified their national statement aft 9 months of bargaining pinch the company, thing Sawyer said marks the first accepted corporate statement for those drivers successful the country.

“We met successful Victoria each clip astatine a bargaining table, and our broadside was connected 1 broadside of the table, Uber’s head connected the different side, and we worked done each the things that we were capable to get connected behalf of these drivers,” said Sawyer.

Setting up a national for gig drivers comes pinch galore challenges, from addressing differences successful bargaining demands to the difficulties of rallying precarious workers, whose rank commonly fluctuates and who deficiency a emblematic agency space, said Sawyer.

Singh says he was precocious fto spell arsenic a driver for Dragonfly, a determination he learned of via a WhatsApp message. But it was not from the institution itself, but alternatively from his “independent transportation contractor,” referred to arsenic an IDC, that is hired by Dragonfly.

Dragonfly operates by letting individuals and companies motion up to go IDCs, allowing them to prosecute and negociate a squad of drivers. Singh said these individuals are their superior constituent of interaction for receiving activity and moreover find their wages.

“They are conscionable utilizing for illustration IDC arsenic a middleman to conscionable contradict america our rights, our benefits, everything,” Singh told BERITAJA, adding that erstwhile drivers effort to interaction Dragonfly, their requests are unopen down.

“Whenever we raise our voice, they conscionable say, ‘You don’t activity for us.'”

Dragonfly confirms successful a connection that it does not employment transportation drivers but alternatively useful pinch independent transportation companies that negociate drivers.

“These independent transportation companies are responsible for driver hiring, scheduling and compensation, successful accordance pinch applicable laws and regulations,” Dragonfly said successful a connection to BERITAJA.

This business exemplary is progressively communal successful the gig economy, said employment lawyer Lior Samfiru, adding that workers hired by subcontractors are often referred to arsenic contractors alternatively than employees, which impacts their ineligible rights.

“The reality is that a batch of these subcontractors who past prosecute the labor are not equipped to woody pinch labor because they’re really mini operations themselves,” Samfiru said, adding that these business models besides often deficiency accountability arsenic they walk connected work to the adjacent statement of contractor.

While advancement is being made successful places specified arsenic Victoria pinch its Uber contract, Samfiru says non-unionized drivers should still beryllium observant erstwhile striking, arsenic they do not person the aforesaid authorities arsenic unionized strikers and could look ineligible dismissal.

“So the consequence present is that for immoderate individual, particularly these Dragonfly contractors, if location are different group consenting to do the job, Dragonfly and the different contractors could prosecute those different group and the individuals connected onslaught will suffer their jobs,” he said.

“As a strategical measure, it’s very problematic and whitethorn not beryllium thing that results successful the betterment that they want, conscionable because they whitethorn yet suffer their job.”

However, ineligible options, for illustration going done the Ministry of Labour, are still connected the table.

“You can’t beryllium punished for opinionated up for your ineligible authorities to the grade that the institution is breaching those rights. But you person to show, not that the institution is not treating you well, you person to show that the institution is really doing thing illegal,” said Samfiru.