Ola and Uber drivers are planning to go on strike again from November 17 to press their demands, which, according to union officials, have not been fulfilled. The drivers had gone on an indefinite strike on October 22, which was called off on November 2. The unions had called off the strike on condition that their demands be met by November 15.

The call to restart the strike was given by the the Maharashtra Rajya Rashtriya Kamgar Sangh and the Marathi Kamgaar Sena (MKS). Mahesh Jadhav, president of MKS, said between November 2 and 14, they had met the State Transport Minister once and with the companies twice. Mr. Jadhav said, “No headway was made during the discussions and hence we have had to take this step.” The unions are planning to hold a morcha to Mantralaya on November 19.

The strike may not, however, be as successful as the earlier one as several drivers have expressed concern about their earnings. A driver, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “The last strike came at a huge personal expense. I was without an income for 12 days, that too as Deepavali was approaching. I hope this time, I am able to work.”

Giving strike a miss

Mohammad Yakub of the Action Committee of Maharashtra, another union of Ola and Uber drivers, said they will not be participating in the strike. “There was no resolution last time and there won’t be one this time either. We have asked all our members to be on the roads and have even met traffic police officials to ensure our drivers are not mistreated.”

National fuel price index

An Uber spokesperson said, “We recognise that the recent fuel price increases have impacted the net earnings of independent driver partners on the Uber platform. We have instituted a national fuel price index, which will ensure that driver earnings across India are correlated with changes in the price of fuel. Mumbai is the first city where we will be rolling this out.”