A union representing Deliveroo riders is taking the courier to the Supreme Court following a collective bargaining rights snub earlier this year.
A victory for the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) would “set a precedent for collective bargaining rights across the gig economy” the union said, and “pave the way for a future worker status claim”.
The case comes months after Deliveroo signed what it called a “historic” union recognition deal with the GMB union. The Voluntary Partnership Agreement – made in May and which began this month – gives rider members of GMB rights to collective bargaining on pay and consultation rights on benefits and other issues, including health and safety.
The IWGB at the time called the deal “a hollow and cynical PR move”, accusing the GMB of “claiming to represent [workers’] best interests but in fact signing away their basic rights”.
“It is outrageous that Deliveroo is continuing to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds fighting the IWGB in court over collective bargaining rights when it has just granted collective bargaining rights to another unrepresentative union,” said Alex Marshall, former courier and IWGB president.
“Clearly, Deliveroo accepts the legitimacy of collective bargaining for couriers but is simply not prepared to engage in collective bargaining with the union that has the largest membership of gig economy couriers. Deliveroo should be investing this money in courier pay and conditions, rather than trying to silence its workers who only want a seat at the table,” he added.
Deliveroo’s deal with GMB came as a surprise to many, given IWGB had been organising with Deliveroo couriers since 2016.
Commenting on the GMB agreement, Callum Cant, author of Riding for Deliveroo, said the union had “parachuted into this deal, appearing out of nowhere to offer the platform a cushy partnership”.
Several legal challenges have been brought against Deliveroo in recent years in the UK and elsewhere, arguing riders are workers, rather than self-employed, which would grant them certain benefits. These lawsuits have come at a serious financial cost, with Deliveroo revealing in its IPO prospectus last year that it had set aside more than £112m to cover potential legal costs in five countries.
The IWGB said this week that the GMB deal failed to address “numerous problems with Deliveroo’s employment practices” and did little to “tackle overhiring and unpaid restaurant waiting times, the biggest causes of low pay”.
“Deliveroo is likely to be concerned at the prospect of fresh claims which it will have hoped to avoid by what was presented as a ‘ground-breaking’ deal with GMB,” said Yvonne Gallagher, head of employment at Harbottle & Lewis. “But Deliveroo is also unlikely to be keen to negotiate with more than one trade union.”
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