Statement on the Home Office scapegoating undocumented riders

Henry Chango Lopez, General Secretary of the IWGB, said:

“Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat have built their businesses through the blood and sweat of couriers. They have made millions ruthlessly exploiting both British and migrant workers with below minimum wage pay. Meanwhile the Government has allowed this exploitation to continue, periodically carrying out immigration raids to attempt to bully couriers into accepting these dire conditions.

"Now, as this moribund Government seeks to make migrants a scapegoat for its many failures, citing bogus claims about migrants undercutting wages and risking public safety, these companies are all too happy to dance to the Tories’ racist tune in the hopes that politicians will keep turning a blind eye to their heinous employment practices. But these changes are harming all couriers: already we are seeing numerous dismissals of couriers with the right to work as a result of these checks malfunctioning.

"A month after the biggest courier strikes in UK history where workers of all backgrounds came together, we reject these attempts at division: we are clear that low wages are the result of decisions by bosses and politicians, not migrants. We will fight until we get justice: we demand decent wages and job security for all, and an amnesty for undocumented workers.”