Today, delivery riders from Deliveroo gathered at Circular Quay in front of the Sydney Opera House to join in on an international strike to demand better pay and conditions, ahead of the UK food delivery giant listing on the London stock exchange.
In Australia, the Transport Workers Union are supporting riders, many who are earning less than the minimum wage, working under dangerous conditions and with few rights, as forced contractors rather than regular employees. Several delivery drivers have been killed on the roads in recent months, with mounting pressure on reaching delivery quotas..
COVID-19 has seen a dramatic increase in insecure work and worker exploitation across the country and some of the most vulnerable are those working in the so-called ‘gig economy’, such as food delivery riders, most of whom earn only $10 per hour. Many riders are from migrant communities, desperate for work and without social security, some stuck in Australia unable to return home because of the shut down of international flights due to the pandemic.
Thousands of Deliveroo riders went on strike across the world today, including in Australia, the UK, Spain, Belgium, The Netherlands, France and Italy.
*Click through images for full screen view
^The post contains links to further information
