Workers at Royal Mail subsidiary ballot to strike over illegal employment misclassification, pay and bullying

• Workers at last mile delivery company eCourier have launched their “Respeito e Dignidade” (Respect & Dignity) campaign, demanding worker status, dignified pay, a fairer workplace and an end to bullying and harassment from management, and are balloting for strike action
• eCourier, a subsidiary of Royal Mail, were found guilty of misclassifying workers as independent contractors 7 years ago, and committed to an internal investigation which is yet to take place
• Couriers, who transport vital medical samples for the NHS amongst other cargo, report consistently being paid less than minimum wage after costs and denied holiday pay, as well as a culture of bullying and harassment in the workplace.

Monday 30 September: Couriers working at eCourier, a last mile delivery service that operates as part of the Royal Mail group, are balloting for strike action. Couriers are currently illegally misclassified as independent contractors, and are demanding worker status, which would see them receiving holiday pay (including hundreds of thousands in backdated holiday pay), pensions, and protection against discrimination, as well as dignified pay, improvements to work distribution, and an end to bullying and harassment in the workplace.

The workforce, represented by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), is made up of majority Brazilian migrant workers, and fulfils last mile delivery needs for a range of companies, including medical companies such as HCA that sees workers transporting blood for emergency blood transfusion in the NHS.

In 2017, eCourier was found guilty of misclassifying workers as independent contractors, denying workers basic working rights, and committed to launch an internal investigation into the matter. Since then, no investigation has taken place. In 2019, another worker status claim was submitted by the IWGB to the Employment Tribunal with 10 claimants, but a preliminary hearing is yet to take place.

Alex Marshall, IWGB President says, “eCourier, like so many other gig economy companies, is knowingly breaking the law by misclassifying workers as independent contractors, and they’ve done so for years without consequence. Even when companies like eCourier or Uber are found guilty of this illegal practice, they are able to avoid implementing changes due to a weakness in legislation and enforcement. As usual it’s left to precarious workers to take matters into their own hands and transform their workplace from the ground up, sending a message across the entire gig economy that real change is possible through organising and action.”

Matheus Malaspini, a worker at eCourier says, “Many workers at eCourier were scared to take action at first  - we know that management are quick to punish workers for standing up for themselves, but now that we are coming together and standing shoulder to shoulder, we know that whatever they throw at us will be met with the full force of our union and the wider labour movement.”

Ane Lima, a worker at eCourier says, “The gig economy is filled with migrant workers, particularly Brazilians like us. Employers often feel like they can tread all over us and disrespect us, denying us of our basic rights because they know legislation is weak enough to allow them to get away with it. It’s our responsibility, as the people who do the work at these companies, to tell them that they can’t get away with that anymore.”

For more information, please contact:

Jake Thomas (Press and Communications Officer)

jakethomas@iwgb.co.uk