The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana State Taxi and Drivers Joint Action Committee has asked Uber and Ola cab service companies to provide Covid-19 cover to their driver partners.

Besides providing a fixed daily compensation of ₹1,175 to drivers that are tested positive for Covid-19, the companies should bear the hospital expenses should they require hospitalisation.

The JAC demanded the companies to give a compensation of ₹25 lakh for the kin of the drivers who succumbed to the viral infection.

The JAC, which comprises 20 unions and associations of gig and platform working for app-based transport firms such as Uber and Ola in the State, has an aggregate membership of over 35,000 drivers across Telangana.

“We appeal to you to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, plastic screens, sanitisers and disinfectants to all drivers,” Shaik Salauddin, Chairman of the JAC, has said.

“Thousands of drivers working for various app-based cab services, who have already been reeling under the impact of rising fuel prices, are facing hardships in the second wave,” he said.

Considering the gravity of situation, the association asks the cab service companies to resolve the demands at the earliest.

The JAC wants the companies to fix the fare not be below ₹17-22 a km and reduce the commission amount from 25 per cent to 5 per cent.

He also wanted the firms to allow the drivers to withdraw their earnings towards the evening. “The customer pick-ups allocated should be within three kms from the driver’s location. The companies should pay for the additional distance travelled by the drivers for the pick-ups,” he said.

The JAC wants the companies to ensure transparency in resolving the rows between customers and drivers and classify drivers as employees.