Online ride-hailing services such as Uber and Bolt have been at loggerheads with drivers in Kenya and other countries over their poor compensation.
In 2018, the drivers held a similar strike which concluded in an MoU with the firms, in which they promised to increase payment made to drivers and agreed on a sustainable pricing structure.
The drivers however insist that the firms have not honored the terms of the deal.
They also claim that the firms have refused further negotiations with the drivers’ representatives with regard to changes made to the services without prior consultation.
President of the Digital Taxi Forum, John Kimani, has said the drivers will be on strike until an agreement is arrived upon between all the parties and stakeholders involved.
He said, “We have no other recourse than to begin our indefinite strike from July 15. We will be picketing and holding peaceful demonstrations daily until our concerns are addressed.”
The dominant players in the digital cab space are notorious for engaging in ‘price wars’ to the detriment of the taxi drivers, who are more often than not, not consulted prior to price cuts and discount offerings.
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Lower prices garner more users for digital taxi firms, while cutting into the drivers’ earnings to unsustainable levels.
Mr. Kimani goes on to say, “Our members feel short changed. They have been patient enough awaiting implementation of the MOU to no avail.”
The parties involved in the 2018 discussions include the Digital Taxi Forum, the Digital Taxi App companies (Uber, Bolt formerly Taxify, Little Cab, and others) and the Ministry of Transport.
However, the terms of the resulting MoU have not been implemented yet.
