THE App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU) called for drivers and the public to stop using Uber today amid a 24-hour strike against the ride-sharing company.

The union cited Uber’s intensified “brutal exploitation of workers” and “political graft” as reasons for the strike following the publication of the Uber Files.

The walkout, which ended at midnight, included a demonstration against the company outside its head office in Aldgate, London, the ADCU said.

The workers are calling for Uber to “immediately” obey a recent Supreme Court ruling on workers’ rights, saying they want the company to treat drivers fairly, pay them owed back pay, end “unethical” lobbying, respect democracy, and fire Uber executive board member Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty.

The ACDU said in a statement: “Uber’s common defence for both its UK worker rights failures and the global Uber Files scandal is to say that the company fundamentally changed in 2017 after Dara Khosrowshahi became CEO.

“This is a lie. Uber certainly has become more slick and less brash in its PR, but the brutal exploitation of workers and political graft has only intensified.”

The strike came after the contents of documents and messages related to Uber’s business were published in a series of stories by the Guardian and other outlets in a leak known as the Uber Files.

Allegedly leaked by ex-Uber lobbyist Mark MacGann, the files appear to outline through text messages, emails and other documents strategies the company used to expand.

The company influenced politicians, including Emmanuel Macron, operated illegally in a range of cities, and discussed putting Uber drivers at risk by creating tension between taxi drivers in cities — clearing the way for expansion of the service — the files suggest.

The ADCU said that Uber increased fares during rush hour yesterday, but workers have paid the extra costs instead of it being passed on to users.

The union called the move “expensive” for the company and a “clear strike-breaking strategy.”

An Uber spokesperson said: “The ADCU represents a tiny proportion of active drivers on Uber.

“With demand up following the pandemic, Uber drivers are earning more than ever — in the first quarter of 2022, they earned on average £29.72 an hour, including holiday pay, when actively engaged on the app.”