Bengaluru: Taxi-hailing companies Uber and Ola are facing protests from drivers who run for them in Kerala.

The All-Kerala Online Taxi Driver’s Union (OTDU), which says it has 2,500 out of the roughly 3,000 drivers who ply for companies such as Uber and Ola in the state, has called for an indefinite strike from 29 December in protest against the incentive structure of these companies.

Drivers of app-based taxis formed their own informal union in November to oppose the incentive structure of online cab aggregators and to combat alleged threats from legacy trade unions in the sector in Kerala.

App-based taxi aggregators have been facing resistance in cities across India, even as their popularity grows among the public for their low charges. While Uber’s Bengaluru office was vandalised by drivers protesting against incentive cuts in October, in other cities like Mumbai around 80,000 traditional cab operators stayed off the roads in September saying their incomes are getting eroded by such companies.

The Kerala union’s main demand is that the companies should agree a consistent incentive structure, at least for a six- month period. The present incentive structure fluctuates and is not lucrative enough when compared to the initial offerings of these companies, said T.R.S. Kumar, OTDU president.

The union has also sent a ‘charter of demands’ to Uber, asking the cab aggregator to take a smaller cut from the incentives given to drivers.

“We understand that the business works for both us and the general public. Sometimes they give us more than we expect, like yesterday they announced a new structure as part of the New Year buzz," said Majeed Vazhakala, general secretary of the union.

“But we want them to take note of our grievances, at least for a day. Although we are declaring an indefinite strike, some of us may go back to work after one or two days because we have families to feed," he said.

The union has also demanded the companies to double the incentives given to drivers for rides to particular destinations, such as Kochi airport, where tensions have escalated between drivers of online aggregators and traditional operators. According to the union, at least 30 complaints of Uber or Ola drivers being physically assaulted have been lodged with police stations in Kerala so far this year.

An email sent to Uber and Ola remained unanswered.

Sayan Chakraborthy from Bengaluru provided inputs for this story.

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