Uber will need to tighten up employee rights to win licenses in future, Labour’s business spokeswoman has suggested.
Uber has lodged a licence for a taxi office in Aberdeen and wants to start running “as soon as possible”, as it does in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
But the company has just been refused a licence to operate in London due to safety concerns, throwing future expansion into doubt.
Uber allegedly failed to report accusations of assault by its drivers, as well as treating its drivers as self-employed rather than full employees and allegedly pressuring them to work longer hours than was safe.
Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Rebecca Long-Bailey said the licensing issues could be solved if Uber improved its treatment of workers.
She said: “Many workers in Uber essentially feel exploited. If we can get clear definitions of what an employee is then Uber would know what its obligations were.
“That won’t stop it operating but it would mean they had to give their workers the rights and protections they deserve.
“I understand there were also some issues with criminal records checks and this can be dealt with quite quickly if the company wishes to do so.
“These are not issues that are impossible to overcome but clearly there are safety concerns and we cannot put customers at risk.”
Uber operates a smartphone app allowing passengers to book, pay for and track a taxi on their phone and has been hailed as one of the biggest technological ‘disruptors’ in recent times.
Ms Long-Bailey denied she was hostile to the idea of innovative technological developments like Uber.
She said: “The technological advancements we have seen under Uber are fantastic and we’re fully supportive of that.
“But these are two separate issues — we can’t confuse workers’ rights with technological advances.
“We want to see technological advancement taken forward in a way that’s safe for customers and provides workers with the security they deserve.”
