Weeks after Uber drivers in Victoria celebrated a landmark union contract, Toronto driver Ejaz Butt remains unconvinced it would help improve conditions for him and other drivers across the country.
Butt, a veteran Uber Black driver and longtime advocate for ride-share workers, has spent nearly 14 years on the platform. In that time, he said he has watched his earnings erode as more drivers competed for rides and transparent pay systems gave way to opaque algorithmic pricing.
The new agreement, Butt and some labour experts argue, falls short of addressing one of drivers’ biggest concerns: wages.
“What benefit is a collective agreement that doesn’t include workers’ pay?” Butt said.
What’s in the collective agreement
On April 28, the United Food and Commercial Workers union announced that more than 1,000 Uber drivers in Victoria had ratified their first-of-its-kind collective agreement with the ride-hailing giant. The drivers joined UFCW Local 1518 in July 2025, a milestone for labour organizing in Canada’s gig economy. Experts say the agreement could serve as a model for similar contracts elsewhere in the country. But could it work in Toronto?
While supporters see the deal as a breakthrough for app-based workers, critics say it leaves key issues like workers’ pay largely unresolved.
The newly ratified agreement includes a $250 signing bonus for drivers who have completed at least 50 trips since July 1, 2025, and quarterly bonuses tied to the number of trips completed. It provides a yearly five per cent increase in wait-time fees, cancellation fees and out-of-region fees.
Drivers will have access to a wellness fund worth up to $500 annually for sick time or extended benefits such as dental and eye care. Uber will contribute 10 cents per trip into the fund.
The agreement establishes a formal grievance and dispute resolution process, allowing drivers to challenge issues including account deactivations, ratings and suspensions.
Labour relations lawyer Ryan White of Cavalluzzo LLP called the agreement “a positive step” for gig workers, noting it establishes collective bargaining rights in the sector and could pave the way for similar efforts across Canada.
“If this is seen as a stepping stone, and if the plan is to continue to build worker power and to come back for more in the coming rounds, then this is an incredibly positive result,” White said.
David Doorey, a professor of labour law at York University, said the deal reflects the reality of many first contracts, which tend to produce incremental gains.
“Rarely will a union win significant improvements in a first agreement,” he said. While any pay improvements are marginal, Doorey noted the deal creates enforceable workplace protections in an industry where platform companies have historically wielded “unchecked power.”
At the same time, White said it was “disappointing” that the agreement did not challenge Uber’s engaged-time model, which drivers argue understates both the amount of time they spend working and their costs for fuel and maintenance.
Rules introduced in British Columbia in 2024 guarantee app-based workers a minimum wage of $20.88 an hour for “engaged time,” meaning the hours spent actively completing trips or deliveries. But the rules don’t account for time spent waiting for work, which many drivers say makes up a big part of their day. Ontario guarantees a minimum wage of $17.20 an hour for engaged time.
“If a collective agreement doesn’t disrupt Uber’s engaged-time model, then it’s a way of making concessions while still maintaining the most fundamental element of their exploitative labour model,” White said.
UFCW national president Barry Sawyer, who participated in the Victoria negotiations, acknowledged wages were discussed but did not make it into the final agreement. “We asked for all the things that drivers want and we got some yeses and some noes.”
Sawyer said the gains — including benefits, bonuses and a formal dispute process — were priorities identified by Victoria’s Uber drivers.
When asked why wages were not addressed, Uber said in an emailed statement: “This is not a traditional agreement. It is designed for how drivers actually work, and there is no change to how drivers use the Uber app today.
“This is part of an ongoing process as we learn what works best for drivers,” said Laura Miller, Uber Canada’s head of public policy and communications.
But whether a similar agreement could be achieved in Toronto is uncertain.
Why an Uber deal was easier in B.C.
Sawyer said B.C.’s labour laws gave organizers an advantage by allowing app-based workers to unionize.
In Ontario and most other jurisdictions, ride-share drivers are generally classified as independent contractors, limiting their labour rights and making organizing more difficult.
In B.C., Bill 48 offers greater protections for “online platform workers” by considering them employees of online platform operators, regardless of whether they are employees or independent contractors under any law.
The size of Toronto’s sprawling ride-share workforce is also a challenge for organizing. City data shows the number of licensed ride-share drivers grew to nearly 80,000 by the end of 2025.
“It is extremely difficult to organize hundreds of drivers who work out of their cars and who come and go every day,” said York’s Doorey. “Without a law requiring Uber to provide contact information for the drivers, it is very difficult for unions to communicate the benefits of collective bargaining to the drivers.”
Sawyer said Victoria presented fewer organizing challenges. Its geography allowed organizers to more easily reach drivers at hubs such as the airport and ferry terminal, helping them build support for the union.
Still, Sawyer said UFCW is optimistic the breakthrough can be replicated and is organizing drivers in cities in B.C. and other provinces.
Not everyone is convinced.
Earla Phillips, an Uber driver in Toronto and vice-president of the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario, said the contract is a small step forward but ultimately falls short.
“Getting Uber to sit at a table with a bargaining unit is a victory,” Phillips said. “But the contract itself — that is not really a victory. There is no wage support.”
Phillips hopes that one day drivers in Toronto can unionize but she is critical of UFCW’s existing relationship with Uber.
In 2022, Uber fought off a unionization effort from Uber Black service drivers in Toronto by reaching a settlement with UFCW. The national agreement allowed the union to give drivers access to free representation from UFCW if their account is deactivated or they face other issues.
The union “needs to separate themselves from that arrangement. You cannot effectively represent both sides,” Phillips said. “It’s a conflict of interest.”
