WELLINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - New Zealand's highest

court sided on Monday with a lower court's ruling that drivers

of Uber ( UBER ) who brought a case against the rideshare

company should be treated as employees, a decision that could

pave the way for collective bargaining.

The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Uber's ( UBER ) appeal of a 2022

ruling by the Employment Court, which had said four Uber ( UBER ) drivers

were employees of the business rather than contractors.

The case had been brought by two unions on behalf of the four

Uber ( UBER ) drivers. Uber ( UBER ) had argued its drivers are independent

contractors using its platform, not employees.

The top court's decision could give Uber ( UBER ) drivers similar rights

to those in a number of countries, including the UK.

The Workers First Union said the Supreme Court's judgement

"paves the way for thousands of Workers First Union members to

pursue full employment rights, including restitution for

historic underpayment of wages and entitlements" and that it

would now be advancing collective bargaining.

Emma Foley, managing director of Uber Australia & New Zealand,

said in a statement the company was disappointed with the

decision as it casts significant doubt on contracting

arrangements across New Zealand.

"While the implications of this decision could be far-reaching,

for now this decision relates to only four drivers and delivery

partners, and Uber ( UBER ) and Uber Eats will continue to operate as

normal," Foley said.

Uber ( UBER ) had earlier challenged the lower court's decision in the

Court of Appeal. While rejecting Uber's ( UBER ) appeal, the appeals

court's judges had noted that whether a person qualified as an

employee was of "increased importance in light of growing

fragmentation, casualisation, and globalisation of work and

workforces in New Zealand."

They described the value of having employment status as "the

gate through which a worker must pass before they can access a

suite of statutory minimum employment entitlements, such as the

minimum wage, minimum hours of work, rest and meal breaks,

holidays, parental leave, domestic violence leave, bereavement

leave and the ability to pursue a personal grievance."

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Muralikumar

Anantharaman)