Shaik Salauddin

Shaik Salauddin has been working with Cab Driver (one of the two biggest app-based ride-hail companies in India) since 2012, and has been a driver organiser in Hyderabad (capital city of Telangana State) since 2014.

In his career as an organiser, Shaik Salauddin has worn a number of hats. In 2014, he founded the Telangana Four Wheeler Drivers’ Association to represent the interests of Govt official Hire Vehicles driver and outsourced, contracted, and other private drivers. In 2016, he established the Telangana State Taxi and Drivers’ Joint Action Committee, which brought 20 drivers’ unions in the State under one organisational umbrella.

In 2019, he was elected the newly-formed National General Secretary of the ‘Indian Federation of App- based Transport Workers’ (IFAT), a coalition of 20 workers’ associations from 15 cities across India, collectively having around 35,000 members. In this role, Shaik Salauddin has helped to advise and coordinate efforts across states, from raising funds to distributing PPE and food supplies, to meeting with policymakers, and organising strikes. This year, he has started a new organisation called, Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union (TGPWU) through which he hopes to broaden his sights beyond ride-hail workers to all Gig and Platform workers in Telangana State.