The Professional E-hailing Drivers and Private-Owners Association of Nigeria (PEDPAN) has asked the National Assembly and the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to intervene in order to meet its requests for effective coordination and regulation of the e-hailing business.
The organization regretted that despite repeated requests for effective regulation from the union, it was clear that the government had not given the industry the attention it deserved.
It claimed that in an industry that frequently hires recent graduates, a lack of government regulation and protection had been identified as a driving force for dictatorial application (app) arbitrary standards, a careless attitude toward drivers’ safety, and a loss of investment to e-hailing drivers, drive partners, and fleet management companies.
At the union’s first delegate conference, which was held in Lagos and was titled “Restructuring,” national president of PEDPAN Jolaiya Moses claimed that government regulation of the sector and the speedy certification of PEDPAN as a trade union in the e-hailing industry by the Ministry of Labour and Productivity would draw in investors and safeguard drivers’ welfare.
He claimed that due to the current authoritarian app firms’ immoral business model and practices, the movement grew quickly out of a critical necessity to safeguard drivers’ common interests and enhance their welfare.
In order to achieve the desired transformation that would lessen the suffering of the drivers, attract investors, and produce income for the government, he asked the government to show interest, willingness, and collaboration with important parties.
The PEDPAN boss urged the app businesses to review their unfair pricing practices, unjustified driver deactivation, proper rider profiling, reduction of the enormous commission fees, collaboration with the drivers’ union, and implementation of regulations that are beneficial to all stakeholders.
Olutola Ibitoye, the union’s Kwara State Coordinator, expressed optimism for a positive outcome from the conference and said: “This will create more awareness, especially the government and our partners that they cannot come and lord over us here. They can come through us to have regulations that can fit into the market like good pricing, profiling for riders, security and pension schemes. We expect that after certain years, we have something we can fall back on.”
