Deliveroo couriers in Yorkshire to boycott two major restaurant chains in response to plummeting rates

• Couriers will not be accepting deliveries today from Five Guys in York and Wagamama in Sheffield.
• York couriers demand paid waiting times and shorter waiting times.
• Sheffield couriers demand fair pay, fair termination processes and the reinstatement of a courier dismissed on bogus grounds.

10 September: Deliveroo orders in Sheffield and York will be disrupted today as couriers boycott two of the delivery platform’s most popular restaurants in response to unfair treatment and plummeting pay.

Sheffield couriers will not be accepting Wagamama deliveries from 7pm until close at 10pm. They are demanding:

• The reinstatement of Sheffield courier Khalid Kalil who was dismissed by Deliveroo on bogus grounds.
• A living wage after costs.
• Fair treatment and a fair process around terminations.

York couriers will not be accepting Five Guys deliveries from 11am until close at 11pm. They are demanding:

• An end to excessive waiting times at Five Guys, which some riders have said can be as long as 40 minutes.
• For Deliveroo to pay for the time couriers spend waiting to receive the delivery after they have accepted the order.

Wagamama and Five Guys are among Deliveroo’s biggest clients. In 2019 Wagamama made over £40 million in sales through Deliveroo, according to IWGB estimates (1). Meanwhile, Deliveroo has said that Five Guys burgers are among the most popular dishes ordered by its customers in 2019 (2).

Dee Uddin, Deliveroo courier and chair of the IWGB Couriers and Logistics branch Sheffield committee said: “We used to be able to make minimum wage but now it has become impossible. I have to work as much as 12 hours to make just £100 and that’s before you take into account my car payments, petrol, insurance and all my other expenses. On top of it all, it seems now they are just booting riders off the app for the fun of it. Khalid was one of the hardest working couriers out there and they just sacked him without giving him any evidence or a chance to appeal. Deliveroo and the big name restaurants are making millions while the riders are being treated like disposable waste.”

Cristian Santabarbara, Deliveroo courier and coordinator of the IWGB Couriers and Logistics branch York committee said:  “Five Guys is making riders wait on average fifteen and as much as forty minutes for an order. So in some cases riders will only be making one order in an hour and earning less than four pounds. How are you supposed to raise your children or pay your rent on that kind of money? If Five Guys wants to spend hours making each order, polishing each burger and individually slicing each onion with a precision knife, that's fine, but they should demand that Deliveroo pay for our waiting times. What they can't do is continue to profit off the back of a hyper-exploited workforce and not expect there to be some kind of reaction.”

Alex Marshall,  IWGB Couriers & Logistics branch chair said: “Deliveroo couriers have been applauded by the public throughout the pandemic for their role as key workers, while their working conditions have gone from bad to worse. They are putting their lives on the line for less than minimum wage and are being terminated for bogus reasons without any evidence nor an opportunity to prove their innocence. We need to emerge from this pandemic with a renewed respect for key workers, yet Deliveroo and its large restaurant clients are treating them as more disposable than ever”

For more information:

Press@iwgb.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

1. Wagamama had a turnover of £340.1m between February and end December 2019 (£81.6 million in the 12 weeks to 28 April 2019 and £258.5 in the 35 weeks to 29 December 2019). Its parent company The Restaurant Group said deliveries via Deliveroo accounted for 12% of Wagamama sales in 2019.
2. Deliveroo has said that its second most popular dish globally in 2019 were Five Guys cheeseburgers in London. The 21st most popular dish globally were Five Guys cheeseburgers in Dublin.
3. The IWGB is the UK’s leading union for precarious workers. It has taken legal action against Uber, Deliveroo, Addison Lee and several other so-called gig economy employers. In 2018 it organised the first nation-wide strike of Uber drivers and last year it organised the biggest strike of outsourced workers in UK higher-education history.