Deliveroo challenged by IWGB in the Supreme Court over riders’ collective bargaining rights

• IWGB Union is challenging Deliveroo in the Supreme Court over the company’s refusal to recognise  couriers’ right to collective bargaining, including the right to negotiate over pay.
• The hearing, which takes place on Tuesday 25 April and 26 April, is the most recent appeal in a long line of challenges against Deliveroo that stretch back to 2016.
• Last year Deliveroo formed a partnership with the GMB Union, which IWGB condemned as a “cynical PR move” due to its failure to allow riders to negotiate over pay.

Monday 23 April: The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is challenging Deliveroo’s denial of collective bargaining rights in the Supreme Court after 7 years of legal disputes between Deliveroo and the union. This will take place almost a year after the gig-economy giant signed a so-called ‘partnership’ deal with the GMB union.

Deliveroo’s announcement of its union partnership deal - in which the company claims it will negotiate with GMB over certain conditions (notably excluding pay) - stands in stark contrast with its stance that self-employed (independent contractor) status prevents riders from any entitlement to collective bargaining rights.

The GMB agreement fails to address numerous problems with Deliveroo’s employment practices in proposed negotiations, including the lack of basic rights such as holiday pay and pensions. The agreement also does not tackle unpaid restaurant waiting times, the biggest cause of low pay. IWGB is seeking the right to negotiate improvements to all aspects of couriers’ working life, in particular, pay, hours and holidays. The IWGB considers it has the right to do so under the law.

The IWGB began organising with Deliveroo couriers in 2016 around pay, precarity, and safety.

Alex Marshall, IWGB President says: "Whilst pretending they’re interested in worker dialogue, Deliveroo have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds to resist giving their workers a voice. So-called ‘partnership agreements' with trade unions are no substitute for real collective bargaining, and do nothing but promote a false narrative of rider satisfaction. The reality is that Deliveroo is the most protested platform in the world, and their riders are fighting tooth and nail to survive. These workers deserve change, and we’ll continue to stand together until they get it."

For more information, please contact:

Jake Thomas, Press Officer
press@iwgb.co.uk / +44 7446 625784