REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
Uber drivers striking outside company HQ in London.
- Uber and Lyft drivers went on strike on Wednesday, logging out of the app for the day and voicing their anger about working conditions.
- Protests are taking place in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, London, and Glasgow among other cities.
- Business Insider was on the ground at the London protest and spoke to drivers who are demanding better pay to keep up with living costs.
- They are also unhappy about how rich some of Uber's investors will get from the upcoming IPO, which a union called an "orgy of greed."
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Uber and Lyft drivers went on strike on Wednesday, campaigning for better pay and working conditions from the ride-hailing companies as they go public.
Strikes against Uber were more internationally widespread, as Lyft only operates in the US and Canada. Lyft's stock price sank more than 7% on Wednesday amid the industrial action.
The strike comes ahead of Uber's IPO, which promises to make investors such as founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick richer by potentially billions of dollars. The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, which is helping stage the strikes, called it an "orgy of greed."
Read more: Here's who's getting rich on Uber's massive IPO
Demands from the international strikes included job security, higher pay, and a cap on the amount rideshare companies are allowed to take from riders' fares. The strike started in Melbourne, Australia, and moved across the world on Wednesday.
An Uber spokesperson told Business Insider on Monday ahead of the strikes: "Drivers are at the heart of our service ─ we can't succeed without them ─ and thousands of people come into work at Uber every day focused on how to make their experience better, on and off the road. Whether it's more consistent earnings, stronger insurance protections or fully-funded four-year degrees for drivers or their families, we'll continue working to improve the experience for and with drivers."
Scroll on for pictures from the protests as they unfolded.
