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Why are Deliveroo And Uber Eats Drivers Going on a Strike on Valentines Day in The UK? Here's Everything You Need to Know
Thousands of drivers from popular apps like Deliveroo and Uber Eats are planning a walkout, which is expected to affect Valentine's Day food deliveries.
Deliveroo and Uber Eats delivery drivers are holding a Valentine's Day strike in protest to increase their pay and working conditions. A grassroots organization called Delivery Job UK, which has a large Brazilian membership, is in charge of organizing a strike on Wednesday. In London and several other locations, it claims to have more than 3,000 supporters.
Drivers to protest for increase in pay
The organization wants to raise awareness of the precarious employment and low compensation that drivers—many of whom work multiple delivery apps concurrently—face. Delivery drivers work for themselves and are therefore considered self-employed, which allows their employers to pay them less than the statutory minimum wage, which is presently £10.42 per hour.
Deliveroo riders' status was validated by a Supreme Court decision in November that determined they were not "workers," following an extensive legal battle by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain to be allowed to form a union and negotiate on their behalf. Delivery drivers in the UK have expressed dissatisfaction with inconsistent payment terms and unclear terms for jobs that typically include a flat rate minimum plus an extra payment fee.
One of the job organizers spoke to Guardian saying, "It's very random: we don't know the algorithm, we don't know how it's calculated," the organizer stated, adding that he aimed to get customers to consider the circumstances that drivers deal with while placing takeout orders.
Despite significant inflation, data from thousands of couriers gathered by the Rodeo app—which lets them compare their pay across delivery companies—suggested that costs were reduced in 2022 and 2023. Deliveroo is not listed because it has refused to let drivers submit their information.
Dr Callum Cant, from Essex Business School at the University of Essex said, “The single problem we have had with these apps over the last few years has been the continual reduction in real wages. So over time, things have got worse. These workers are so often treated as invisible. And they’re taken for granted.”
Know more about Uber Eats and Deliveroo
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