UK Deliveroo riders are refusing to work as part of a pay and conditions protest, hours after unconditional trading in the company’s shares began following last week’s troubled flotation.
More than 200 Deliveroo riders couriers joined a demonstration in London yesterday, riding their bicycles and mopeds from the Deliveroo HQ in central London, according to the strike’s organisers, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB). The union said they want the living wage, safety protections and rights including access to holiday and sick pay, an end to unpaid waiting times, and the right to refuse unsafe work without penalty. Protests were also held across England including in Reading, Sheffield, Wolverhampton and York.
Deliveroo floated on the London Stock Exchange last week, but the shares lost 26% of their value the first day as some City investors criticised the company’s structure and its treatment of workers. Deliveroo said it surveyed 8,500 riders this week and almost 90% were satisfied working for the company.
