Deliveroo Delivers Inequality

December 24, 2016

tags: a symbol of a city deeply divided between the rich and the poor, better workers’ rights, city, cyclists pedaling furiously to deliver take away food to customers, DELIVEROO food couriers gathered in London, In Victorian times servants were kept downstairs, London, phil maxwell, photoblog, street photography, the national minimum wage and holiday pay, Trade Unions, Uber drivers were workers rather than self-employed contractors, urban, “gig economy.”

It is now difficult to walk anywhere in London without seeing cyclists pedaling furiously to deliver take away food to customers. In Victorian times servants were kept downstairs to serve their employers; today they travel the streets exhausted without even receiving an hourly fee. If they are waiting to make a delivery they don’t get paid. Riders can be waiting for up to an hour for a delivery without getting paid a penny. Last month DELIVEROO food couriers gathered in London to discuss a plan to force the company to offer better workers’ rights. Workers in north London are demanding union recognition, inspired by the recent landmark employment tribunal ruling against private vehicle hire company Uber. In a test case brought by general union GMB, the tribunal panel invoked Shakespeare and Milton in a withering judgement last month, throwing out Uber’s claim that it was merely a technology company. It was ruled that Uber drivers were workers rather than self-employed contractors. The judgement could trigger sweeping changes across the so-called “gig economy.” Precarious workers could win access to the national minimum wage and holiday pay because of the ruling, which Uber is now appealing against.

Delivery cyclists in London have become a symbol of a city deeply divided between the rich and the poor.