Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome has donated £2,000 to the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) representing taxi drivers in Nottingham. This is the fourth donation announced by the Labour MP this year, as part of her pledge to only take home £35,000 of her salary of over £81,000 and give the rest to local causes.

The ADCU organises private hire drivers and couriers across the UK. They run campaigns around fair pay and union recognition in the gig economy, and against unfair terminations of drivers working for companies such as Uber, Bolt and Addison Lee. Recently the union launched legal action against Uber’s use of an algorithm to dismiss workers. In October, Whittome spoke at a meeting of the International Alliance of App-Based Transport Workers representing drivers from 23 countries, including ADCU members in the UK.

This week, Nadia Whittome also donated £2,000 to the Nottingham couriers branch of the IWGB union which represents Deliveroo riders. Previously she has made donations to the St Ann’s Advice Centre and sex workers’ charity POW Nottingham.

Nadia Whittome said:

Drivers are key workers. They have played a vital part in getting us through the Covid-19 crisis, and showed selflessness and solidarity when they offered free lifts to NHS and social care staff. They deserve much more than just applause. The ADCU does a brilliant job standing up for gig economy workers in our city, who often face low pay, job insecurity and lack of basic workers’ rights such as holiday pay. It’s been a pleasure to work with them over the past year, and I’m pleased to use my donation to support their campaigns.

Azeem Hanif, the Chair of ADCU’s Nottingham Branch, said:

Nadia has always been proactive in supporting precarious workers and has always vehemently supported the App Drivers & Courier Union by standing shoulder to shoulder with us at rallies and protests. Today’s generous financial support cements those commitments further, and we commit to utilising these funds to both protect and deliver justice to those app drivers and couriers.