Latest news with #gigworkers


CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
Ontario raises minimum wage for gig workers to $17.20 starting July 1
Ontario raises minimum wage for gig workers to $17.20 starting July 1 A new $17.20 hourly wage for gig workers takes effect July 1 in Ontario, raising the standard for app-based jobs.


CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
Ontario gig workers to receive minimum wage
Starting Tuesday, gig workers will be entitled to minimum wage as well as tips under the provincial's Digital Platform Worker's Rights Act.


CBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CBC
New law that aims to protect Ontario gig workers falls short, critics say
New legislation that offers more protection to digital platform workers in Ontario becomes law on Tuesday, but critics say the act is "lacking" and falls short of what gig workers actually need. Under the province's Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act (DPWRA), digital platform workers must be paid at least the minimum wage "for each work assignment performed by a worker." The act applies to ride share, delivery and courier services, such as Uber, Lyft and Instacart. Changes under the law include more transparency about how pay is calculated, how and when tips and gratuities are collected by operators as well as the establishment of regular pay periods. Jennifer Scott, president of Gig Workers United, a Toronto-based union of gig workers, said the organization will have to see how the legislation is implemented. But she said the problem when it comes to gig workers is that there is engaged time, when they are actively working, and unengaged time, when they are waiting for an order, delivery or customer. The right to a minimum wage applies only while gig workers are working, she said. "This minimum wage isn't a real minimum wage because it only applies to just a little over half the time that we're at work," Scott said. According to a 2021 City of Toronto update to its 2019 vehicle-for-hire impact report, drivers spend about 40 per cent of their time waiting for a trip, about 48 per cent driving a passenger and about 12 per cent en-route to a pickup or waiting for a passenger at pickup. Law 'denies workers basic rights': advocate The new legislation also gives workers the right to file complaints with the Ontario Ministry of Labour. But Scott said it doesn't give them the right to file complaints with the Ontario Labour Relations Board and that means they do not have the right to arbitration. Scott said the legislation essentially means digital platform workers do not have the same rights and protections that other Ontario workers enjoy. "It's still lacking," Scott said. "This legislation — really it denies workers basic rights and protections. It denies workers minimum wage for the entire time that we're at work." The legislation also denies workers paid sick leave, statutory holiday pay, overtime, as well as the right to make Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board contributions, Scott said. Ontario says legislation establishes 'enforceable' rights In a statement on Monday, the ministry said: "Ontario is proud to lead the country by introducing the Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act (DPWRA), the first legislation of its kind to establish new enforceable rights and core protections for workers who provide ride-share, delivery, and courier services through the use of digital platforms." Under the legislation, corporations can be fined $15,000 for a first offence and up to $50,000 for a third or subsequent offence within three years. Individuals may be fined $250 for a first offence and up to $1,000 for repeated violations. "In addition, operators will be prohibited from retaliating against workers for asserting their rights, filing complaints, or cooperating with investigations," the ministry said. Uber and Lyft did not respond to requests for comment. 'The pie is only so big,' Uber driver says Earla Phillips is an Uber, Lyft and Hopp driver and co-founder and president of the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario, an organization that advocates for fairness for drivers. She thinks the law doesn't reflect real concern by the government for workers. For example, Phillips said the legislation doesn't reflect a driver's expenses or the fact that the work is precarious. "With the continued flood of more workers signing up to do this kind of work, you're degrading their little tiny cut of the pie that doesn't continue to grow with that growing workforce," Phillips said. "The pie is only so big. The pie is not growing in comparison to the amount of workers that are flooding onto gig work platforms." 'Step in the wrong direction,' lawyer says Ryan White, a labour and employment lawyer, said the legislation is far too late. White said it doesn't do enough to provide transparency, pay gig workers for all of the work they do or protect them when they are terminated. He said the law has been discussed since 2022 and the province has allowed the issue to "fester" for years. "I think, if anything, the legislation is a step in the wrong direction in the sense that it gives the appearance that we're doing something about the problem," White said. White said gig work is under-compensated, dangerous, difficult and important. "This is legislation that allows the provincial government to say — 'Look, we're actually doing something about the problem' — without actually taking adequate steps to ensure that gig workers are protected." Sundeep Mann, an Uber Eats driver, said he is not sure how the new rules for workers such as himself will actually help. He has been an Uber Eats driver for the past 18 months. "I have no idea if it's good or not because it depends on active time," he said. Mann said he won't know if it's made a difference for at least two weeks or a month.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Why you might be paying Uber more money for slower pick-ups, according to a new study
Passengers sometimes wait as their Uber driver drops off someone else before picking them up. The author of a new study points to a potential reason: Uber's habit of forward-dispatching rides. The study said these rides were often pricier and took longer to arrive. Uber disputed the findings. Uber riders know the frustration: watching your driver make another stop before heading your way. Such rides are a key part of Uber's strategy, the author of a new study claims. Uber sometimes offers rides to its gig-worker drivers as they are finishing their current jobs. These rides, called forward-dispatch trips, are meant to be convenient ways for drivers to pick up another job and for riders to get into a car faster. The alternative is that riders might have to wait longer, and drivers might spend unpaid time searching for another trip. A study released on Monday by Len Sherman, an executive in residence and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, reports that, in practice, forward-dispatch trips "give riders worse service at higher prices, while drivers gain little or none of the price premiums" — a finding that Uber told Business Insider it disputes. "Contrary to the assertion that Forward Dispatch leads to longer wait times and worse service, the purpose of this feature is exactly the opposite: to reduce rider wait times and improve reliability," an Uber spokesperson told BI. The study is Sherman's latest analysis of Uber's financial performance. He has previously criticized the company's strategy as well as its approach to pricing rides and paying drivers. Sherman's latest work looked at data for two Uber "power drivers" in different states who have collectively driven thousands of forward-dispatch trips in recent years. One driver got about 60% of their trips through forward dispatches, Sherman said. For the other, the figure was about 40%, he said. The data showed that riders waited up to 60% longer for forward-dispatch trips than for other Uber rides. Riders for one of the drivers waited an average of over 11 minutes between when they ordered a ride and when the driver arrived, when it was a forward-dispatch trip. The wait time was about seven minutes for other trips, the study found. Riders also paid up to 11% more on a per-mile basis for forward-dispatch trips, according to the study. The study doesn't identify a root cause for this increase. "But in practice, forward-dispatch trips have allowed Uber to increase its take rates and profits at rider and driver expense," Sherman wrote in the study. "Riders are paying more for worse service," Sherman said in an interview with BI. Meanwhile, Sherman found that the two drivers were paid "little or no more" for forward-dispatch rides than normal ones. Sherman writes that there is "considerable variability in driving patterns and market conditions across Uber's pool of over one million US rideshare drivers," and that there are limits to studying a couple of drivers. But, he adds, his study "deliberately focused on Uber's most important driver segment" — that is, drivers who work nearly full-time most weeks and have thousands of trips under their belts. Uber doesn't tell riders when their trips are being filled using forward dispatch, though they might be able to figure out what's going on when they see their driver dropping off someone else. The study said riders were more likely to cancel their trips when Uber tried to fill them using the technique. One of the drivers saw riders cancel 8% of their forward-dispatch rides, higher than the 2% for non-forward-dispatch trips. An Uber spokesperson said that "forward-dispatched trips often result in shorter average ETAs" for riders since Uber suggests new trips to drivers before they've finished one. Forward-dispatch trips are not priced higher than other trips, and there is "no distinction in driver compensation" between the two kinds, the spokesperson said. For drivers, saying yes to a forward-dispatch trip can seem attractive, Sherman said. Uber serves the potential trip to the driver on their phone as they are still driving a rider to their destination. Drivers worried about finding their next job might be tempted to agree to it without looking at the details, Sherman said. "You're navigating traffic, you're talking to your current passenger, you're looking for the address of where you'll be dropping them off, then this thing comes up, and you've got less than 10 seconds to respond," Sherman said. "It's like chaos." Gad Allon, a professor of operations, information, and decisions at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, has also found that taking forward-dispatch trips isn't the best way for Uber drivers to make money. An analysis Allon published last year, based on data from drivers in New York City, found that they tended to be better off waiting for other trips or checking other ride-hailing apps. Forward-dispatch trips represent a "conundrum" for Uber drivers, Allon told BI in an interview. Many choose to drive for Uber because they want to work with a flexible schedule, he said. However, the same drivers often feel pressure to take forward-dispatch trips because it means less unpaid time in between gigs and, therefore, more income. "You don't have to think about the next ride," Allon said. "You accept it, you know what's going to happen next." "We all want some certainty in our jobs," he said. Do you have a story to share about gig work? Contact this reporter at abitter@ or 808-854-4501. Read the original article on Business Insider


Entrepreneur
6 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
The Job Interview Mistake That Causes Hiring Managers to Ghost
"Any questions for me?" Your answer could make or break an offer. These days, it takes an average of six months for job applicants to get hired for a new role, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report. Given that timeline — and the fact that some job-seekers might put in hundreds of applications before they receive an offer letter — it can pay, literally, to be strategic during the interview process. Many hiring managers will ask interviewees if they have any questions for them at the end of an interview. It's an opportunity for candidates to further express their interest in and qualifications for the role. Related: The Ultimate Guide on How to Prepare for a Job Interview There are a lot of great questions to ask in an interview — and some that might be best avoided, depending on your career goals. A new study from found that although pay transparency is the No. 1 most important thing gig workers look for in job listings, hiring managers will ghost one in 10 candidates who ask about pay during an interview. The lack of transparency around compensation can not only throw a wrench in an applicant's job search but also make it more difficult for employers to find the right talent. Related: 7 Mistakes to Avoid Making During a Job Interview, According to a Business Etiquette Expert One in four gig workers would never apply to jobs without listed pay, and 68% don't trust companies that hide pay information because they believe it means the job pays poorly (74%), has a high turnover rate (49%) or fosters a toxic culture (35%), according to the report. What's more, 20% of workers say that pay transparency in their industry has gotten worse, per SideHustles. Related: Why Do You Want to Work Here? Here's How You Can Ace the Question Every Time Hannah Williams, the Gen Z content creator behind the account Salary Transparent Street, told Entrepreneur that young professionals who want to make sure their salaries are fair should always be prepared to negotiate once they receive an offer — and wait 24 hours before accepting any new role. "Even if you're satisfied with the rate, tell them you need 24 hours to review the offer," Williams said. "This has not only helped me get more money in the final offer if the company is pressured to fill the role, but has also brought me peace of mind in thinking through and making my final decision."