Khosrowshahi had said that people who do gig work would lose the freedom they have now.
LISBON Mark MacGann, the person who leaked the so-called Uber Files, said on Wednesday that the ride-hailing company seemed to be taking steps to improve its work culture, but that its business model was still “absolutely” unsustainable.
In July, the Guardian and Le Monde newspapers reported that from 2013 to 2017, Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER.N) broke the law and secretly lobbied politicians as part of a push to expand quickly into new markets.
MacGann, who was in charge of lobbying governments on behalf of Uber, said he was the person who leaked more than 124,000 company files.
MacGann said he decided to speak out because he thought Uber broke the law on purpose and lied about how good its gig-economy model was for drivers.
In July, Uber said in response to reports in the Guardian and Le Monde, “We have not and will not make excuses for past behaviour that is clearly not in line with our current values.”
MacGann said that Uber’s current CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, and his executive team “have done a lot of good things, but they have so, so far to go.”
When Reuters asked for a comment on Wednesday, an Uber spokesman pointed them to an opinion piece by Khosrowshahi in the New York Times in 2020, in which he said, “Our current employment system is outdated and unfair.”
Khosrowshahi had said that if gig workers became employees, they would lose the freedom they have now and rides would cost more. The CEO wrote that workers want both flexibility and benefits and that new laws are needed to help them.
Khosrowshahi wrote in the op-ed, “I’m suggesting that gig economy companies be required to set up benefits funds that give workers cash they can use for benefits they want, like health insurance or paid time off.”
“My message to Uber is, “You’ve done well, but you can do it so much better,” “MacGann told a news conference at Europe’s largest tech conference, the Web Summit, in Lisbon.
He said that Uber recently said again that “independent contractors are at the heart of its business model” because everyone wants to be their own boss and everyone wants flexibility.
He said that the facts, on the other hand, show that this view is wrong because Uber drivers in different countries are suing the company to “have a basic minimum of social protection, like sick pay.”
“Uber is spending tens of millions of dollars fighting laws in Europe, the U.S., and other parts of the world,” he said.