KATE THOMPSON DAVY: Cape Town holds a mirror up to the Uber Files and Amazon’s treatment of workers
While the ride-hailing platform flouts laws, the internet giant hails job creation when it suits it
In July, through the work of investigative journalists around the world and the bravery of a willing whistleblower, the world was treated to a trove of sensitive and revealing company information about the erstwhile business practices of Uber up to 2017, known collectively as the Uber Files. The files include emails, presentations and company memos from Uber operations in about 40 countries over four years. They paint a picture of Uber knowingly manipulating government officials, flouting laws and misleading its gig workers, all in pursuit of more growth and profit.
One of the most interesting aspects of the news coverage was the Washington Post’s editorial choice to lead one of its pieces with an SA human interest tale: the story of a Capetonian Uber driver who thought he’d finally found the tool to his own economic liberation. Instead he became an indirect victim of corporate policies that made it increasingly harder for him to earn well (no matter how hard he worked), and i...
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