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Unions accuse Uber of racist software to remove drivers via face recognition Mark Bursa A group of Uber drivers have protested outside Uber’s London offices in support of a legal claim against the firm’s automated face recognition software, which unions claim is a “racist algortithm”. The protest was in support of an unnamed Uber driver of BAME origin, who lost his job when automated face-scanning software failed to recognise him. The driver has filed an employment tribunal claim alleging his account was illegally deactivated when the software decided he was not who he said he was. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is backing the action, and claims at least 35 other drivers have had their registration with Uber terminated as a result of alleged mistakes with the software since the start of the pandemic. The software, which has been used
by Uber since April 2020, has been developed by Microsoft, and the software giant has previously admitted that it is not as effective in recognising black or Asian faces as it is with white faces. Uber strongly refutes the claim that its software is “racist” and said there were two manual human reviews prior to any decision to remove a driver. “The system is fair and important for the safety of our platform,” Uber said in
a statement. It has also said anyone removed from the platform could appeal against the decision. In London, nine out of 10 private hire drivers are black or black British, Asian or Asian British, or of mixed race, according to a recent survey by TfL. “Uber’s continued use of a facial recognition algorithm that is ineffective on people of colour is discrimina-
tory. Hundreds of drivers and couriers who served through the pandemic have lost their jobs without any due process or evidence of wrongdoing,” said Henry Chango Lopez, general secretary of the IWGB. Uber is facing further similar claims in cases being brought by the App Drivers & Couriers Union. One driver, Imran Javaid Raja, who was dismissed in October 2020 after failing an Uber facial recognition test, then had his licence revoked by TfL for a month. Uber admitted it had made a mistake, and the licence was reinstated, but Raja has not been compensated for lost earnings, the union said. James Farrar, General Secretary of the ADCU, said: “All of the drivers that we’ve represented that have been to the magistrates’ court when they’ve had their licences revoked – we’ve appealed every one of them, and won every one of them.”
Southampton drivers ask council for multiple operator door signs Private hire drivers licensed with Southampton City Council have asked the licensing committee to allow them to display multiple operator door signs so they can accept jobs from more than one operator. Members of the licensing committee discussed the request during their latest meeting, but decided that the current rules, which allow just one operator door sticker to be used, should be retained. Cllr Graham Galton said: “We are aware of the door signage issue, that is something that is being looked at and hopefully we will come to a decision in the not too distant future.”
Currently all private hire drivers licensed with Southampton City Council must display door signage which shows both the name of the operator and licensing authority. Drivers have stressed that this limits them to just one operator, when in reality they could work for multiple
firms, increasing their earning capacity. Southampton private hire trade representative, Ali Haydor, said that the industry was not saying vehicles should no longer have signage, but instead requesting that drivers be allowed alternative signs which don’t limit their options and helps offer them job security. Licensing committee members said they were not willing to make a decision without looking at the overall impact a change could have on the taxi and private hire industry as a whole. —Mark Bursa
Fewer than half of taxi licensing authorities using NR3 database Fewer than half of the licensing authorities in England are submitting data to the National Register of Taxi and Private Hire Licence Revocations and Refusals scheme (NR3), according to government data. NR3 allows councils to record de-
OCTOBER 2021
tails of hackney carriage or private hire vehicle licences that have been refused or revoked. It also allows local authorities to check new applicants against the register and decide that a person is “fit and proper” to hold a licence.
However according to sources only half of licensing authorities were using the NR3 database when making licensing decisions at the end of March 2021. In response to a question from Richard Holden, Conservative MP for
North West Durham, Transport Minister Rachel Maclean responded: “As at March 31, 2021 48% of authorities submitted data to the NR3 scheme, and 50% used NR3 when making licensing decisions. —Mark Bursa
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