Deliveroo

Before a rider strike on February 2, 2024, Deliveroo emailed partner restaurants urging them to call police and 'request they clear individuals from the location' if riders were 'loitering' or engaging in 'anti-social behaviour.' A subsequent Valentine's Day strike was met by 15 officers and 4 police vans. IWGB union called the language 'deliberately inflammatory.'

The UK Supreme Court ruled that Deliveroo riders are self-employed independent contractors who cannot be legally classified as 'workers' under UK trade union law. The ruling denied riders access to collective bargaining rights the IWGB union had sought since 2017. This despite research finding one-third of riders earned below minimum wage, with some working 80-hour weeks.

Deliveroo and the GMB union entered into a voluntary partnership agreement covering more than 90,000 riders. While acknowledging riders as self-employed contractors, the agreement gave GMB rights to bargain collectively on pay and to be consulted on benefits and safety issues. This was a positive step despite the company's legal victories against worker classification.