A.C.T is an acronym. It stands for the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers. Why then are they doing Ubers bidding when they (Uber) are neither a consumer nor a taxpayer?
I keep looking for the puppeteer’s strings, or the mouth moving on the ventriloquist’s dummy whenever the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Brooke van Velden, speaks. I have never seen anyone so inarticulate and disingenuous when required to answer relevant questions in the media and the flippant way our rights as workers in Aotearoa New Zealand have been eroded by this Government. They are toying with people’s lives to satisfy the operational requirements of a corporate mega giant. This is the reason these changes are being referred to as “The Uber Law”.
This leads me to comments made by staff at Business NZ who stated that unless these amendments to section 6 of the Employment Relations Act (ERA) were made, companies like Uber would withdraw from operating here altogether. I can’t think why, why would you?
When you pay less than 1 million dollars in company tax on combined revenue of over $450 million across the two platforms you operate, that would seem crazy. But this Government has just allowed that to happen.
There is a distinct lack of rights
By this I mean there are none. Because of the recently passed amendments to section 6 of the ERA, Uber drivers are back to square one, even though we legally won the right to be considered employees, not contractors.
Uber claim that drivers have autonomy and flexibility. That they can drive whenever they want. It is not long before you realise that everything you do as an Uber worker is controlled in one way or another by Uber’s algorithms and AI-driven help and support systems that, to be honest, may as well not exist for all the “help and support” you get.
As you may know, up to 1,700 Uber drivers have joined Workers First Union and fought in the courts for over 5 years to get the same rights that other employees in New Zealand already have. In many other countries where similar legal action has taken place, Uber’s demands to change laws or legislation to suit their needs have been rejected by the governments of those countries. The U.K and Switzerland are good examples of this.
We have gone through all three tiers of the court system in Aotearoa: The Employment Court, The Appeals Court and The Supreme Court, fighting our case for better working conditions. And we won. This Government has just thrown us under the bus by pandering to the demands of an international mega corporation.
The impact of this is so hard to describe. Working for Uber is like no other job I ever had, and it’s the only job where I have received pay decreases. Uber can change the rules at any stage, and they often do. In 2023 they introduced “Upfront Pricing” worldwide, which immediately resulted in our earnings crashing by up to half, with drivers left with no choice but to “Tick the box” and accept the new terms and conditions.
Uber have an active practice of no caps on driver numbers. That means prices are driven down because at times driver supply outstrips demand. Drivers call this “The race to the bottom”, because we become trapped in a system where we have to accept low-cost fares to make ends meet.
Costs are high rewards are little
Overall, costs to drivers are extremely high. We provide the vehicle and all associated costs such as maintenance, fuel, insurances, etc. On top of that Uber take 28% as a service fee for each ride; GST is added to that service fee figure, making the actual total approximately 32%. 15% GST is then applied to the total sum, bringing the actual fees and taxes total to about 47% of each ride. The GST is retained by Uber, then “passed on” to the IRD.
The physical, mental, and emotional toll on drivers is huge. Financial stresses are the highest as you often need to work long hours to maintain your liabilities. Driver fatigue is massive – you are almost encouraged to work busy periods and are constantly notified of the “rich rewards” if you drive during certain periods. In 2025, a driver in Wellington was killed in a car accident because he had been working extremely long hours.
All we want as workers is to be paid correctly for our time. This includes online time, enroute time and on trip time. That isn’t much to ask, but Uber only pay us for the “On Trip” portion. You can be sitting in your car for an hour sometimes staring at your phone screen willing that magic trip offer tone to sound.
Drivers get no information about upcoming rides until they get to the pickup location, other than how many minutes it is likely to take. You don’t receive the destination until you start the trip, and the dollar amount is hidden until the trip is completed. It’s like playing Russian roulette for the chance to earn money. In many other countries, this information is shown the moment a ride offers comes in.
Deactivation
Everything as an Uber driver revolves around a ratings system so poorly designed that drivers are at constant risk of deactivation. The ratings system is percentage driven: decline a trip and you’ll lose 1% of you acceptance rate; cancel a trip Uber will add 1% to your cancellation rating. It’s too easy to fall foul in this system and be deactivated. Deactivation is final and you are terminated on the spot.
In the 7 years I have driven for Uber, I have completed 34,000 Uber X rides and 3,500 Uber Eats food deliveries. You’d think that would give me some form of protection or job security. But it doesn’t and I am at constant risk of deactivation. I have been deactivated three times, resulting in immediate loss of earnings.
The most ridiculous of these was being sacked for wearing glasses. I inadvertently caused the photo recognition software to believe I was another person. The difference? In my profile picture I am not wearing glasses. This issue took 5 days of communicating with a largely automated help and support system designed to frustrate people into giving up. Even when you get to speak to a human, they’re in another country and are just as powerless as you are.
I would like to conclude by acknowledging the tireless work of our primary union organiser John Ryall. He has done this on a voluntary basis, which is no less than inspirational. Massive gratitude also goes to our legal team, Peter Craney & Grace Liu, and the wider staff from both E tū and Workers First Unions for their help in getting this victory across the line. I’d like to single out Anita Rosentreter and Marie Aldcroft, who have been instrumental in organising member meetings in Auckland, attending court proceedings and having the ability to lift our spirits when things like court decisions seemed to take forever.
Lastly my fellow delegate and partner in crime, Meaole Kiel. Your bravery to give evidence in court, then to turn down a secret settlement offer of a substantial amount took some balls. Your fire and brimstone sermons at our meetings and other functions has been a joy to be part of and a pleasure to watch. Worker rights should never be rewritten to suit a corporate model, and I hope the next Government shows some guts and gets rid of this ridiculous law.
Steve Fairley
Workers First Union Delegate and Uber Driver
I am 53, Mainland born and bred: Str-8 outta Dunners, but I’ve called Wellington home for the last 25 years.
I have a strong family background in the working class & Trade union movement. My Grandfather was a staunch union man involved with the Railways Union at the Hillside workshops, and later went on to be president of the Dunedin RSA.
I am currently “employed” as an Uber driver, and I say that because that is what the courts have said. You should listen to the courts, and abide by their rulings when they say things…Right?
I got involved in the legal action against Uber in 2020 when I discovered that it wasn’t the Holy Grail of earning potential that I was led to believe, and since then have immensely enjoyed my role as a delegate & corporation smasher for Workers First Union.
Outside of that, my hobbies include reading (usually of the fantasy/grim dark variety), art, design & illustration, collecting toys & am a lifelong lover of heavy metal music, both playing in bands, attending gigs and recovering from playing in bands and attending gigs.