UBER drivers who face losing up to £50 a week gave the company’s new charges the red light yesterday.

Employees of the controversial firm will be protesting outside Uber’s headquarters on Thursday after it decided to up its share of journey fares from 20 to 25 per cent.

London staff said company efforts to undercut Transport for London (TfL) black cabs meant they were feeling the squeeze between commission increases and price cuts.

Uber driver and GMB union rep James Farrar told the Star that he and his colleagues already had to endure two decreases in fares over the last year.

“Rather than raise the fares to a reasonable level in order to boost their coffers, Uber have instead raised the share of the fare that they take,” he said glumly.

“The trouble is Uber is very aggressively attacking the market.

“It’s already got 18,000 drivers and it’s targeting to reach 42,000 by next spring.

“Not just are our fares low but also the competition for the fares there are is fierce — Uber doesn’t bear any of those costs.”

Mr Farrar added that the “only avenue open” to drivers was to work more hours.

“When you have a family to feed and a mortgage to pay, how can you cope?

“And that’s when it becomes dangerous, not just for the driver and for the rider — when the driver is forced to work longer and longer hours just to make the money.”

Mr Farrar told the Star that despite his union’s best attempts, the company would not listen to workers’ concerns.

“Uber is really becoming the unacceptable face of high-tech capitalism. It’s taken a while, but I feel there’s a sense now from drivers that this is the last straw.

“Uber is not going to listen to us, we have to take to the street.”

In September GMB revealed how badly Uber drivers were paid after an Uber cab driver kept detailed records for a month.

Taking into account his expenditure, this GMB member was paid £5.03 an hour, £1.47 below the minimum wage. He paid Uber £2.65 for every hour worked or 53 per cent of his hourly pay.