The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has had enough of gig economy platforms like Uber treating workers' pay like a lottery ticket, and is calling for a ban on the practice of dynamic pricing - because nothing says "fair labor" like an algorithm deciding your income based on the whims of supply and demand.
In a report revealing the human cost of this speculative work model, the TUC argues that pay has become decoupled from time, skill, or effort, replaced by an opaque algorithmic process that leaves workers with zero certainty about their earnings. Under dynamic pricing, computer-driven algorithms set variable prices for customers and commission rates for workers in real-time, but union leaders say this replaces fixed rates with constantly shifting mechanisms where the data used to determine rewards is largely obscured.
Uber, which initially took a fixed 20% cut of UK fares (later rising to 25%), introduced dynamic pricing in 2023. The result? Workers describe themselves as "gambling," "leaving it to fate," or "waiting for the jackpot," because pay feels like the outcome of chance rather than work. The report, compiled with Worker Info Exchange (WIE) and academics from Nottingham Trent’s Work Futures Observatory, calls on the UK government to "end" dynamic pay and push ahead with reforms to strengthen employment rights, including giving workers and unions the right to access data used in AI decision-making.
Case studies in the report detail drivers saying dynamic pricing is hurting their incomes, family life, and health, and even compromising passenger safety as drivers push themselves to work while exhausted. Several drivers said they felt their earnings were below the minimum wage. Vladimir, a London-based driver since 2016, summed it up: "It’s too unfair. I want to smash my screen. It feels miserable." He noted Uber went from 100% transparency to 0% transparency, with fares, commissions, and driver pay all now "flexible." A University of Oxford study last year corroborated that many Uber drivers earn "substantially less" per hour since the change.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak called for an urgent crackdown, calling the system "exploitation by the algorithm." Uber has already faced legal challenges over its AI-driven pay systems in the UK, Netherlands, and elsewhere. An Uber spokesperson defended the practice, saying drivers choose the company for flexibility, good earnings, and benefits, and that drivers see destinations and earnings before accepting trips. They also claimed the vast majority of fares go to drivers and Uber's cut has remained "relatively flat." The UK government has been approached for comment.