The Workers Who Sued Uber and Won
The UK Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Uber drivers, declaring them workers and not independent contractors. But to beat the platform capitalists, it is urgent that we start to treat digital rights as worker rights. Yaseen Aslam and James Farrar outside the Employment Appeals Tribunal on September 27, 2017, in London (Carl Court/Getty Images)
In February, the UK Supreme Court ruled unanimously in
Uber BV v. Aslam that Uber drivers should be classified not as independent contractors but as workers entitled to basic employment protections like the minimum wage and paid annual leave. The landmark ruling is an inflection point for gig workerâled movements around the world. In April, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said that gig workers should be considered employees, another sign that the tide is turning.
Brexit sparks renewed calls for Scottish independence
Securing a second vote on secession is easier said than done, though. Before a legally watertight ballot can be sanctioned, the Scottish government must request a so-called Section 30 order from London, the legal apparatus that authorized Scotland s 2014 referendum.
This, in Sturgeon s mind, is the gold standard for securing indyref2 but Boris Johnson isn t so keen. Though UK-wide public opinion looks to be shifting on the question of a second vote, the British prime minister has repeatedly rejected calls for a rerun referendum, arguing that a full generation must first elapse.
Could Sturgeon up the political pressure?
Different European jurisdictions take different approaches to the treatment of overnight ‘sleep-in’ shifts in social care and similar settings under national working time legislation.
The split between the billionaire cofounders of the world’s largest private foundation is sure to have very public consequences. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with an endowment of nearly $50 billion, donates about $5 billion annually to causes around the world.