Delivery drivers working for food delivery apps including Deliveroo (LSE: ROO) and Uber Eats have organised a Valentine’s Day strike to demand improved pay and working conditions. The stoppage was arranged by Delivery Job UK, a grassroots group with over 3,000 supporters in London and other cities.
Many drivers work for multiple apps to try to earn a decent wage, but still struggle. As self-employed contractors, they are not entitled to the £10.42 national living wage. Data shows fees have been cut despite high inflation.
One organiser said it was hard to earn the living wage even before accounting for costs, due to opaque payment systems. “It’s very random: we don’t know the algorithm, we don’t know how it’s calculated,” he said.
Dr Callum Cant of Oxford University said the core issue was declining real wages over time. “These workers are so often treated as invisible. And they’re taken for granted,” he added.
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Deliveroo has an agreement to pay at least the living wage, but drivers dispute the way this is calculated. An Uber Eats spokesperson defended their flexible pay model.
The strike aims to make consumers think about the conditions faced by drivers delivering their Valentine’s meal. But with thousands eager to sign up as couriers, the apps show little sign of substantially improving pay or security.
The strike action will happen between 17:00 and 22:00 GMT today.
