Bolt Driver Shidrak: A Modern Slavery

Bad wages, no conditions and long hours.

Now at least 850 app taxi drivers are gathering in the association Taxiunionen against Bolt – who refuses to meet them.

– It is modern slavery, here in Sweden. Is that how we want it? says taxi driver Shidrak Shamoon, 45.

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On the Tynneredsleden out towards Frölunda, app taxi driver Shidrak Shamoons, 45, rings his phone.

– SEK 111. It’s not much, but just to take, he says and turns in a roundabout.

Into the car jumps chemical engineer Parasto Moameni, 34, who is going on a work errand.

– It is clear that it is more expensive than going by bus, but cheaper than having a car. So, I can afford it, she says.

– It’s good for me, but it lies somewhere on one’s conscience. I save on someone else suffering, or someone else having to bear that cost. Someone has to pay for what I save.

Taxi prices are at record lows

It has been just over a decade since the app taxi giant Uber turned the taxi industry upside down. Five years later, the Estonian competitor Bolt was launched, and quickly became bigger.

Since then, the average price for an app taxi trip has dropped from SEK 199 to SEK 132, calculated for 10 minutes including the start fee, according to calculations by the Taxi Union – a non-profit association that has brought together over 850 app taxi drivers and riders.

– At the same time, the price for the standard of living has risen sharply, especially with inflation, and fuel prices have skyrocketed. It is a scandal, says John van Dinther, chairman of the Taxi Union.

The association works for better conditions for app taxi drivers.

– We have protested, demonstrated and struck – but nothing has helped. It’s terrible.

“Legal Slave Labor”

Today, Bolt takes an average of 23 percent of the taxi journey. In addition to that, the individual driver pays taxes, petrol, salary, insurance and employer’s contribution. According to Shadik Shamoon, on a trip, which on average is around the 100 mark during the day, there are only a few kroner left for the driver to draw a salary.

– With both Bolt and Uber, it has become a real slave labor in Sweden. Legal slave labor.

But it has not always been so. When Bolt was launched on the Swedish market, they only took 10 percent of the total in most places in Sweden, which John van Dinther thinks is a good level.

That particular recruitment strategy is a common way for gig companies to recruit. The companies start by taking a small percentage to get people to join – when the customer base is then stable and the market has thus become increasingly dependent on the app, the percentage is raised.

– People are in a trap, they have started a company, they have bought their cars, they have registered them. They have fallen into a trap, a debt trap, and these companies are using it, says John van Dinther.

The taxi union has started its own competing app, “Fair”. It is owned by the drivers themselves and only takes 10 percent of the customer price.

The alarm: The algorithm that lowers wages

In addition, gig companies have started to personalize pay. Uber was first out, according to Ella Petrini who works at the non-profit group Gigwatch.

If a driver has agreed to drive for low prices in the past, the app can then set an average lower price for that driver, according to Petrini.

– It is very wrong and goes against all norms in the labor market. Wages must be collectively functioning through collective agreements, and of course affect those who are more dependent on work. You might be able to take drives for a certain amount of time because of family, and then you might get a lower salary because of that, she says.

Urges customers to scrap the app

The taxi union has repeatedly contacted Bolt to start a discussion. They want to see an increase in prices, and for Bolt to take a lower percentage.

But Bolt refuses to take a meeting with them.

– There are many people who need to work 60-70 hours a week. It is inhumane. Because we have the Swedish model, these people fall through the cracks, says John van Dinther.

For Shidrak Shamoon, the taxi business is not the only option. He has another job at Volvo in Torslanda, where he works the evening shift.

But when he finishes around midnight, he throws his work clothes into the trunk, puts on a nice civilian jacket and hits the road.

– I long for social life, a social profession, outside the gate. It becomes a freedom, and you meet great, fun people. You hear so many wonderful stories.

But even though he loves his job, he urges customers to put on the hard gloves, to get a change for the drivers.

– Delete the app. Delete the app, the people who drive are subjected to slave labor, he says.

Bolt: “Free to end the collaboration”

Aftonbladet has sought Uber, which has not returned.

Bolt does not want to be interviewed, but replies in an email that they do not require any exclusivity from partners.

“Partners are free to end the collaboration at any time without notice or extra fees.”

They also do not want to discuss anything with the Taxi Union as they have their own app as a competing business.