May 13, 2026 Unionized Uber drivers in Victoria have ratified their first collective agreement, marking a milestone for platform workers in Canada’s gig economy. The deal covers more than 1,000 drivers and is among the first legally binding union contracts for app-based workers in North America.
The agreement, announced April 28 by the United Food and Commercial Workers, follows an organizing drive that saw drivers join UFCW Local 1518 in July 2025. Negotiations with Uber lasted eight months and resulted in a contract that introduces formal workplace protections in a sector long defined by limited oversight and precarious conditions.
“Achieving stronger representation and establishing a foundation for workers to have a voice were at the forefront of our efforts throughout negotiations,” the union said in a summary of the agreement. “This agreement is built with that principle in mind: that platform workers deserve not just improved conditions, but a seat at the table when decisions are made.”
The contract establishes dispute resolution processes, health and safety measures, wellness benefits and new rules governing driver discipline and account deactivation. It also ensures drivers can access face-to-face union representation when conflicts arise, replacing a system where workers often dealt with platform decisions individually and with limited recourse.
Those protections address a core issue in app-based work, where drivers can lose access to their livelihood through algorithmic decisions without traditional employment safeguards such as severance or notice.
The agreement also includes financial improvements. Starting in September, drivers who complete at least 150 trips will receive quarterly bonuses, while those completing 751 or more trips annually will earn more than $2,500 per year by the end of the four-year contract. Fees tied to wait times, cancellations and out-of-region trips will increase by five per cent annually, amounting to a 20 per cent increase over the life of the deal.
For many drivers, those changes represent a shift toward greater economic stability in a sector where workers typically absorb costs such as fuel, insurance and vehicle maintenance while earning variable income.
“This agreement is irrefutable proof that when workers unite to work together in solidarity with a common goal, great results can be achieved,” said bargaining committee member Gilberto Talero Almanza in the union’s statement.
Another committee member, Amninder Singh, said the contract delivers “fairness, fair pay, strong support and real tangible gains,” adding that it provides clearer protections when issues arise with the platform.
The agreement differs from earlier arrangements between gig companies and worker groups because it is a formal, legally enforceable collective agreement negotiated by unionized workers. That distinction signals a shift in how labour relations may evolve in the platform economy.
The breakthrough was enabled in part by changes to labour laws in British Columbia, which lowered barriers to unionization for app-based workers and extended certain protections. While those reforms did not fully resolve questions around worker classification, they created a framework that allowed drivers to organize and bargain collectively.
The Victoria contract also challenges a long-standing assumption that gig workers are too dispersed or independent to unionize effectively. Drivers organized through informal networks, including parking lot meetings and digital communication channels, despite working in isolated conditions and under algorithmic management systems.
