September 24, 2025
The passengers filed a complaint, claiming the driver threatened them but the driver said he asked his passengers to stop using drugs in his car and to leave.
After an Australian Uber driver was falsely accused of threatening a passenger with a baseball bat, the rideshare company is being held accountable for lost wages in a ruling that is challenging the Albanese government’s gig economy laws, Financial Review reports.
A ruling from the Fair Work Commission ordered the company to pay the driver, Mohammad Shareed Hotak, for six weeks of lost pay, the time between being removed from the app and his reactivation. The commission labeled his removal as “plainly unfair” after he had worked for the company for four and a half years without any incident.
The Sept. 23 ruling was the first time ever that a rideshare driver won an unfair deactivation case, in addition to securing lost wages.
Transport Workers Union (TWU) national secretary Michael Kaine, who has fought for dozens of rideshare drivers who have had their accounts deactivated, called the decision “a huge win for gig workers who, until recently, could just be kicked off an app and have absolutely no recourse for it.”
“Uber has done its best to avoid scrutiny by settling cases rather than having its practices put under the microscope,” Kaine added, pointing out that the union has pushed for cases to go before the commission before Uber reactivated accounts. “This decision by the Fair Work Commission is a step toward fairness for gig workers who are now able to stand up for their rights, and it’s proof that Uber now has to be accountable for its AI-fueled systems, which are impacting real human lives.”
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Hotak’s incident took place March 24 after picking up a rider and two additional passengers on Hindley Street, a popular area of Adelaide. The passengers filed a complaint, claiming Hotak threatened them, but the driver said he asked his passengers to stop using drugs in his car and to leave.
The passengers, Hotak said, assaulted him from behind before exiting his vehicle.
Days later, he received a notice from Uber that his account was being deactivated, beginning April 8. He had completing over 6,000 trips in four-and-a-half-years and boasted a 4.99 rating out of 5.
Hotak said he spoke out to let other drivers in similar situations know they aren’t alone in the fight. “I know how stressful and frightening it feels when your income is suddenly cut off,” he said. “But we have rights. Reach out to your union, speak up, and don’t be afraid to challenge Uber’s unfairness.”
ACTU secretary Sally McManus shared similar thoughts.
“For too long, the livelihoods of workers and their families were devastated by unfair deactivation by powerful multinational companies like Uber,” McManus said. “The Fair Work Commission’s ruling makes clear that gig workers now have enforceable rights, and that companies must respect them or be held to account.”
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