An Uber sign is seen at a shopping mall in San Diego, California, U.S., November 23, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
(Reuters) - Uber Technologies will raise the minimum wage it pays drivers in France as part of a wider agreement between ride-hailing companies and driver representatives in the country, the company said on Wednesday.
Drivers will earn a minimum income 9 euros ($9.85) per trip, up from 7.65 euros they were earning previously, and will have a guaranteed income of 30 euros per hour and 1 euro per kilometer.
The changes in hourly income guarantee and minimum wage per kilometer will be implemented by May next year, while the wage increase in revenue per trip will be in effect from February.
Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that ride-hailing apps Bolt and Free Now have also similarly raised their minimum wage.
Earlier this month, the European Union provisionally agreed on a bill aimed at giving employee benefits to workers at app-based platforms such as Uber and Deliveroo.
App-based delivery workers are usually treated as independent contractors rather than company employees, which means general minimum wage laws do not apply to them.
The proposed bill on 'gig workers' rights, that has to be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, will prevent workers from being wrongfully classified as self-employed, which results in them "missing out on important labour and social protection rights," the European Parliament had said.
"The package of guarantees on which we have just agreed proves the strength of sectoral social dialogue in France," said Yves Weisselberger, president of FFTPR, which represent ride-hailing platforms.
A New York state appeals court had earlier this month upheld the minimum wage law for app-based delivery workers in New York City, which would require companies to pay them $17.96 an hour, and rising to nearly $20 in April 2025.
($1 = 0.9134 euros)
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
