According to the Dutch court, Uber drivers are employees, not contractors

AMSTERDAM, Sept. 13 (Reuters) – Uber (UBER.N) drivers are employees entitled to greater workers’ rights under local labor laws, a Dutch court ruled Monday that reversed the business model European of the American company.

It was another court victory for unions struggling to get better wages and benefits for workers in the concert economy and followed a similar decision this year on Uber in Britain.

The Amsterdam district court sided with the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions, which had argued that the approximately 4,000 Uber drivers in the capital are in fact workers of a taxi company and that they should be granted advantages according to the taxi industry.

Uber said it would appeal the decision and “has no plans to hire drivers in the Netherlands.”

“We are disappointed with this decision because we know that the vast majority of drivers want to stay independent,” said Maurits Schönfeld, CEO of Uber in Northern Europe. “Drivers don’t want to give up their freedom to choose if, when and where to work.”

The court held that drivers transporting passengers through the Uber app are covered by the collective bargaining agreement for taxi transportation.

“The legal relationship between Uber and these drivers meets all the characteristics of an employment contract,” the ruling notes.

The FNV hailed the ruling.

“Due to the judge’s ruling, Uber drivers are now automatically hired by Uber,” said Zakaria Boufangacha, vice president of FNV. “As a result, they will receive more wages and more rights in the event of dismissal or illness, for example.”

In some cases, Uber drivers are entitled to a refund, the court said.

The judges also ordered Uber to pay a $ 50,000 ($ 58,940) fine for not enforcing the terms of the employment contract for taxi drivers.

In March, Uber said it would improve workers ’rights, including the minimum wage, for all of its more than 70,000 British drivers after losing a Supreme Court case in February.

Uber also faced a legal setback in the United States, where in May the Supreme Court rejected its offer to avoid a lawsuit over whether drivers are workers and not independent contractors. Read more

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Reports by Anthony Deutsch and Toby Sterling; Edited by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Edmund Blair

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