E-hailing drivers under the aegis of App-Based Transporters Union of Nigeria (AUATON) have called for a regulatory and restorative approach to address deactivation of workers and insecurity in the sector.
They also called for a computerised regulation where every worker is entitled to a unique identification, which provides a central information management system; this is to enhance transparency and proper communication to prevent deactivation from platforms.
AUATON made the call at the Lagos restorative conference held under the theme: ‘Improving the condition for E-hailing workers: can a restorative approach be adopted?’
The aim of the conference was to achieve a collaborative regulatory framework design based on a restorative approach of how to address the harms that workers face in the sector and prevent them.
AUATON president, Comrade Damola Adeniran, said with a unique identification number, every worker would have access to health care and pension, and would be prevented from deactivation from platforms that signed up to these agreements.
He said there was a need for regulation in app-based transport work. “If we fail to adopt an agreement that will regulate platform work in Nigeria and be legally binding, we would be making the same mistakes that platforms made in the construction of their business model,” he said.
Adeniran decried the control, sanctions, and directions that deny the rights of app-based transporters to negotiate and bargain about their rights and conditions.
He admitted that relationships between platforms and app-based transporters’ representatives had broken down, noting that it was time to solve challenges confronting workers in the sector, such as access to healthcare, and prevention from deactivation and dismissal.
He lamented that the lives of several colleagues had been lost in the line of duty as a result of insecurity, while platforms continued to resist the unionisation of workers.
Speaking, Professor of Transport and Logistics, Lagos State University (LASU), Odewunmi Samuel, asked all stakeholders to come together and find solutions, especially on issues of safety for operators and passengers.
The Director, Trade Union, Federal Ministry of Labour, Muhammed Yusuf, who represented the Permanent Secretary, commended the union for organising the conference.
He stressed that it was important that they come together and talk about issues of safety in their business. “Anybody that wants to take Uber or Bolt would be afraid, both the driver and the passenger. There are many sad stories we have heard. So, it’s important to have a regulation on how they are treated,” he said.
