UK – “Slaveroo” riders strike over pay and working conditions

Hundreds of Deliveroo riders, members of the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) went on strike on April 7 for better pay, safety protection and basic workers’ rights. Street protests also took place in London, York, Sheffield, Reading and Wolverhampton. Deliveroo riders are paid as little as £2 per hour according to research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, while the company’s owners and investment firms have made millions from their labor.

Deliveroo – nicknamed “Slaveroo” by many of its workers – has benefited hugely from the closure of pubs and restaurants during the Covid-19 pandemic and employs some 100,000 riders worldwide. Their numbers have swelled as workers who were previously in relatively secure employment, including many with family commitments, have been thrown out of work by the pandemic and economic restructuring. Their sham contracts treat them as “self-employed”, which essentially means they have no entitlement to sick leave or holiday pay, while also leaving them exposed to mistreatment and exploitation by employers as they are effectively doing piecework. Deliveries are a race against the clock, putting riders in city centers at high risk of traffic accidents. Moreover, the nature of their work has made riders vulnerable to coronavirus infection.

The bosses call these slave labor conditions “flexibility” and hypocritically refer to workers as “team members” as though they were their social peers!

There is nothing new about this “gig economy” apart from the name. Midway through the last century Karl Marx noted that in times of crisis the growth of the “reserve army of the unemployed” provided ample opportunity for capitalists to push down rates of pay and impose tougher working conditions to drive profits back up.

In February another independent union, the App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU) won a partial victory when the UK Supreme Court ruled that drivers working for the taxi company Uber are workers, not self-employed. Nevertheless, workers cannot expect to get any justice from bourgeois legal institutions without struggle, as the union noted.

The ADCU issued the following statement: «While we welcome Uber’s decision to finally commit to paying minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions we observe that they have arrived at the table with this offer a day late and a dollar short, literally. The Supreme Court [ruling] … means that Uber drivers will be still short-changed to the tune of 40-50%. Also, it is not acceptable for Uber to unilaterally decide the driver expense base in calculating minimum wage. This must be subject to collective agreement …  

‍«We cannot accept anything less than full compliance with legal minimums. We would also expect to see Uber make progress towards trade union recognition, a fair dismissals appeals process and a data access agreement».

The IWGB timed the Deliveroo strike action to inflict damage on large shareholders in the company, coinciding the action with the share offering to retail buyers on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Alex Marshall, President of the IWGB and former bicycle courier, stated before the strike: «They said it couldn’t be done but by getting organized and speaking out, riders have triggered a domino effect which already slashed £3 billion from Deliveroo’s valuation and that should give pause to any corporation that thinks precarious workers can be endlessly exploited without consequence. It’s time for Deliveroo to do the right thing, recognize its riders as workers and treat them like human beings».

Greg Howard, Deliveroo rider and chair, Couriers & Logistics Branch (IWGB) said: «I’ve seen conditions decline for years and then working through lockdown I contracted Covid-19 and got very little support from Deliveroo. After the pandemic more people than ever understand this exploitation is no way to treat anyone, let alone key workers».

The gig economy is an attack on the working class worldwide and highlights more than ever the need for an international response. The IWGB is itself active internationally, with supportive actions taking place in other countries including Australia France the Netherlands, Ireland and Spain.

At the other end of the class divide, Deliveroo CEO Will Shu, a former Wall Street investment banker, made around $36 million when the firm began trading on the LSE. He also retains a 6.3% stake, worth hundreds of millions.