The Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) and the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) have voiced strong opposition to Uber’s most recent announcement of a collaboration with Sulabh International, which was announced on World Toilet Day.

The unions emphasised the urgent need to abandon targeted campaigns and instead pledge universal accessibility and substantial funding for fundamental human rights for all platform and gig workers. The unions contend that Uber has once again exploited a crucial worker issue to launch a PR-driven, selective, and self-serving campaign rather than accepting genuine and complete responsibility for gig and platform workers, despite the fact that sanitation is unquestionably a fundamental human right. Reacting forcefully to the announcement, Shaik Salauddin, National General Secretary (IFAT) and Founder (TGPWU), said, “Amit Deshpande and Uber should be ashamed of turning a life-and-dignity issue into a publicity stunt. For a business the size of Uber, the amount of CSR money spent on this project is absurd. He further remarked, “Indian gig and platform workers deserve real welfare, not photo-op CSR. Uber keeps doing the same thing: make a grandiose announcement, invest very little, and assert moral leadership. In the meantime, thousands of gig and platform workers in India still face hardships due to a lack of fundamental rights, social security, fair pay, and sanitary facilities.

Uber was criticised by TGPWU and IFAT for three main reasons: failing to negotiate industry-wide solutions, opting instead to run isolated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives for maximum public relations benefit; failing to expand the initiative to include and support women workers outside Uber, despite full awareness that their safety and hygiene needs are also critically important; and treating sanitation like a brand promotion rather than a fundamental responsibility. Shaik Salauddin added, “If Uber and Amit Deshpande are serious about worker dignity, let them extend this initiative to every gig and platform worker in India—not hide behind selective CSR. Gig and platform workers don’t require pity. They require respect, rights, and acknowledgement.

TGPWU and IFAT demand that Uber immediately stop using worker welfare as a marketing and image-building exercise; work with other platforms to develop comprehensive, industry-wide sanitation standards; significantly increase CSR investments rather than providing workers with symbolic “free access”; and extend sanitation access to all gig and platform workers, not just Uber drivers.