Deliveroo drivers on wildcat strike

Well, that video made my morning. :-)

pretty good action going down in central London!

spoke to a random scooter delivery guy (https://quiqup.com) at a traffic light in park royal (west london) just now on way home and he already knew about the Deliveroo strike and about the demands - I think that is pretty great that news spread so quickly…

spoke to a Deliveroo scooterist ten minutes later, young bloke, he was waiting for one hour for call for next delivery (they are supposed to stay put after each delivery, if it is too far to go back to the zone). his zone is in wembley, where about one hundred deliveroo drivers are stationed. he has heard about the strike, but no details. he said that it will be a central London thing, that the strike will be successful, because no one would work for £3.75 per delivery (Uber pays £9 for delivery, same type of job - not taxi drivers). he thought that most of the wembley guys would quit and find other jobs if Deliveroo got through with their plan. he worked for Deliveroo for a few months, initially they didn’t give him the promised amount of hours, he complained and then received 50 hours per week. i gave him the facebook link for the iwgb courier site and our paper…

just went on the deliveroo site, just to see if we can find out whether there is an office or something in west london, but then this chat-thingy popped up (always freaks me out), but i thought i use the opportunity. chat transcript below (you can send it to yourself - weird shit!)...

Chat started on 12 Aug 2016, 04:44 PM (GMT+0)
(04:44:26) *** Visitor 84139365 joined the chat ***
(04:44:28) Deliveroo Support: Hey! We’re here to help. If you’re contacting us about an order, please enter the order ID and your email address below.
(04:49:03) Visitor 84139365: [email protected]
(04:49:09) *** Francis joined the chat ***
(04:49:14) Francis: Hi.
(04:49:39) Francis: How can I help you today?
(04:50:02) Visitor 84139365: Hey Francis! Good to see your delivery drivers colleagues on strike! Living Wage for You All! Best wishes!
(04:51:13) Francis: We’ve invited the concerned riders into discuss this further. We’re keen to find an understanding as quickly as possible.
(04:52:01) *** Visitor 84139365 left the chat ***

That video is fucking ace!

I was happy to see that Deliveroo drivers refused to deliver for Byron after the raids. I don't know if this means all drivers or only some, but it's still good. Deliveroo also had a UKBA raid recently and some drivers were arrested.

Deliveroo offered a deal which was a better offer for peak times but would have the conditions that the drivers rejected for offpeak times. The drivers rejected that. Another strike is proposed for Sunday if Deliveroo don't change their offer.

I completely missed this, but the other day the drivers shut down Oxford Circus.

Drivers have been contacted by management warning them not to join the strike. Drivers say that there are newly recruited workers who are already working on the new terms.

Deliveroo say if drivers don't accept new terms by Wednesday they will all lose their jobs.

donate to strike fund here.
https://www.crowdpac.co.uk/campaigns/47/the-deliveroo-strikers

am I right that there is no protest today, Sunday, in Torrington Place? - they have announced a picket for Monday 9am...

what i don't get:

a friend of mine from glasgow who works for deliveroo told me about a 'zone' where they are supposed to return to when they have completed a delivery. is that not the case in central London? if that is the case, would it not be possible to roam around there and see if any new drivers / scabs hang out?

second question, how many restaurants have signed up to deliveroo in central london? a couple of dozen, one hundred? might be worth trying to stop people there. or at least publish a list of the restaurants for people who might want to engage in some solidarity actions, but can't make it to picket at 9am...

just wondering what kind of things would strengthen the strike apart from meeting at the HQ...

Ciao,

perhaps a bit headless-chicken type of effort, but we just sent out following message to comrades in West London - the restaurant addresses are on the Deliveroo website…

----

Hey,

we wonder how we can support the Deliveroo workers’ strike here in West London. Deliveroo operates in Wembley, perhaps we can organise a protest in front of one of the restaurants that uses Deliveroo (seven in total in Wembley area), talking to delivery guys when they turn up. As far as we know the guys in Wembley are not (yet) affected by the new pay scheme, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t know or support the strike. Similarly, restaurant managements should feel welcomed to contact Deliveroo and complain about potential loss of customers. We found this restaurant near Perivale station that has signed up. We suggest we meet there at 1:30pm on Tuesday - what do people reckon?

50 Bilton Road, London, UB67DH

stay tuned!
some WorkersWithAttitude

www.angryworkersworld.wordpress.com

I know the drivers have a leaflet aimed at restaurants which they are taking round and they have also been going round restaurants en masse. Don't know more than that.

Hey I don't know any more than this newspaper report, but this looks good if it's true:

EDIT: it's not true, drivers say this offer is being reported in a very misleading way

"The firm will now give workers the chance to opt out of what it claimed was a pilot scheme that pays £3.75 per delivery rather than the current terms of £7 an hour and £1 per delivery. It will also guarantee at least £7.50 an hour and petrol for those who continue to participate, following protests by hundreds of delivery riders in London.

While couriers reportedly claimed the new pay structure would be imposed on them from next week, the firm insisted it was only ever going to be a 90-day trial, and that it will now be voluntary. Any final decision on pay will be taken after the pilot, which is being tested by 280 London riders, out of more than 3,000 in the capital, according to Deliveroo."

EDIT
I've seen people saying the drivers are rejecting it.

Also protest tonight in Camden at 6pm

Thanks for the updates Fingers!

Thanks!

Ok if anyone is free in north London tomorrow:

"We're holding a picket between 9am and 5pm at the Deliveroo recruitment office at 79 Pentonville Road (near Angel tube station) to prevent the hiring of strike breakers until there is a resolution between Deliveroo management and it's current riders who are currently on strike."

Drivers are saying pentonville office may be shut today and they are asking new recruits to go to an office in east dulwich, check https://www.facebook.com/couriers.andlogisticsbranch/?fref=nf or @IWGB_CLB for updates. I have a dentist appointment so can't post updates for a bit.

Drivers are saying that other drivers are being offered a 250 pound bonus for strike breaking and also that drivers are being offered money to pass over names, videos and photos of striking drivers.

Deliveroo Dulwich office is at:

2A Melbourne Grove
London
East Dulwich
SE22 8PL

Deliveroo drivers protest tonight, Torrington Place, between Euston and Tottenham Court Road stations, 5pm

Here's what the union page says about the deal that was offered and widely reported in the papers

"Dan Warne has either failed to mention – or the BBC has failed to realise – that to access this £7.50/hour scheme they’ll have to work outside their normal zone – in unknown territory, not of their choosing – they’ll just be dumped somewhere by Deliveroo. It’s also important to note – in case you missed it – that it’ll only be for peak times (lunch and dinner) so the piece rate will STILL APPLY for the three hours between peak times.

We aren’t sure if the media are aware, or if Deliveroo has been omitting this information when talking to them, but we want to clarify the offer made to the striking workers.

Deliveroo have offered drivers to opt out of the new piece rate pay scheme ***ONLY if they move to another zone where the 7+1 scheme is still in place***.

This means drivers will have to work in zones far away, adding extra costs and time to their day. This also means drivers will have to learn their new zone from scratch and spend time building up their knowledge, as it takes weeks and months to get enough knowledge to work efficiently. Drivers will have to learn a whole new group of restaurants and customers.

Drivers have spent years working in their zones, getting to know their patch and building Deliveroo as a company – on the ground. It is not fair that they should move to another zone, because this will also mean taking a wage cut with the time it will take to learn their new area.

Drivers WANT TO STAY IN THEIR CURRENT ZONE.

Drivers DO NOT BELIEVE IT’S A TRIAL AND SHOULD NOT HAVE TO SIGN A NEW AGREEMENT.

Drivers DO NOT TRUST THE DELIVEROO MANAGEMENT."

dp

Drivers report that Deliveroo drivers in south London are being told to go to north London (where the strike is) and are being penalised if they won't go

Tweets from strike page

BREAKING Drivers working in S Ldn told to move zones. They wanted to stay in their current zone but were STOPPED FROM WORKING BY @DELIVEROO!

BREAKING Is @Deliveroo punishing drivers for not driving to new zones? Drivers have been logged off by company while on shift! #Slaveroo

Can I just check that the workers definitely want people to boycott the company? If so is there a boycott leaflet? I can distribute around my building (we normally have several Deliveroo deliveries every evening)

They called for a boycott, I'm actually cooking their dinner right now (this is true) but I will look for info when it won't cause me to burn anything.

I know there is a leaflet, I've looked for it but can't find it.

there's a photo of a handwritten leaflet, I keep trying to post the picture but I can't.

Look, just write a leaflet with a pen that says

Deliveroo are trying to cut wages so drivers can't make ends meet
Drivers are on strike
Please don't buy Deliveroo

Hello everyone, Tuesday is an important day for the strike, there will be a picket at Torrington Place from 12 noon, please go if you can, they need people down there.
Please check IWGB couriers branch twitter and facebook pages for updates.

Thanks for the updates fingers, tell them solidarity from Sweden.

how do you post photos now? I used to be able to save and repost them, now I can't

Today is a big day for the strike and Deliveroo drivers have asked people to call the Deliveroo customer service line, 0203 322 3444 you can either talk about the strike or just talk nonsense about how your food order hasn't turned up but you can't find your order number, it's here somewhere, let me just look for it....

remember customer service team are just poorly paid workers, don't shout at them

fingers malone

how do you post photos now? I used to be able to save and repost them, now I can't

upload to an image sharing website like imgur.com, right click the image to copy the URL, then paste in between this:

thanks

West-London Solidarity Picket for Deliveroo Strikers

https://workerswildwest.wordpress.com/2016/08/16/west-london-solidarity-picket-for-deliveroo-strikers/

Seven restaurants in Wembley area have signed up with Deliveroo. A small group of us - warehouse workers, factory workers and unemployed - started with visiting one of them in Perivale today. We talked to the restaurant workers and customers, explaining that the action targets not the restaurant, but Deliveroo. We handed out leaflets to delivery drivers and suggested to the restaurant manager, that he should contact Deliveroo and ask them to stop hassling their workers. We will continue making our rounds and so should you - we suffer from the same exploitation as our courageous sisters and brothers working for Deliveroo…

Victory to the Deliveroo workers! For multi-national working class solidarity! 

from strikers fb page

**Breaking News**
--- VICTORY TO THE DELIVEROO STRIKE ---
The delegation of drivers have just exited the Deliveroo head office, having finished negotiations with Management. They agreed to the following:
- No victimisation
- No new contract
- Even if drivers have signed the new contract already, it no longer has effect and you are not bound to it
- This will be a trial until 14th September when Deliveroo will meet again with workers to assess the month's pay
- If you don't want to be on the trial, you WILL have to move zone, but you will be able to move to any zone of YOUR choice and be guaranteed the same hours you are currently on.

I think Deliveroo are still imposing the new conditions, but with some quite big concessions. I haven't talked to anyone though so this is uninformed personal opinion based on facebook.

Yeah this seems like a good result!

Although the danger will be that management will take this time to root out "ringleaders", then try to impose the contract at a later date. So hopefully workers can take advantage of this extra time to strengthen their organisation. Linking up and developing communications with riders across London and elsewhere in the UK would seem to be a priority

deleted

Two callouts today for UberEats strike:

Couriers and supporters will assemble for a strike rally at 14:30 on Friday in Black Swan Yard at Bermondsey Street SE1

Picket at UberEats offices next to Aldgate East tube station from 11am but especially from 5-7pm

hey,

good atmosphere yesterday. after assembly five workers went inside ('accepted delegates', rather than elected), management tried to talk them into individual conversations, but workers said 'fuck off'. the restaurant actions of Deliveroo workers seemed to have worked, one guy said that the peak-hour revenue of Gourmet Burgers was reduced from £30,000 something to £120. Uber Eats folks aiming at central London restaurants. One of the most out-spoken workers was 'sacked' - removed from the electronic database. Would be good if people organised some local pickets, list of restaurants should be found on the Uber Eats website. Good film for local propaganda can be watched here:

https://youtu.be/VpnadQjjzLg

ciao,

maybe not immediately helpful - being in german and all - but here is a leaflet friends distributed to deliveroo workers in berlin...

-----

Deliveroo Streik in London
1:0 für die Fahrer

Vom Mittwoch 10. bis Dienstag 16. August haben über 100 Deliveroo-Fahrer in London gegen die geplante Abschaffung des Stundenlohns gestreikt.

Vor der geplanten Umstellung: Deliveroo-Fahrer können sich für bestimmte Schichten anmelden und kriegen 7 £ (8,14 €) pro Stunde und 1 £ (1,16 €) pro Lieferung.

Die geplante Abschaffung des Stundenlohns: Deliveroo will den festen Stundenlohn abschaffen und auch die Zuteilung von Schichten und die Begrenzung, wie viele Fahrer sich für bestimmte Zeiten und Zonen einloggen können. Statt eines festen Stundenlohns will Deliveroo nur noch pro erfolgter Lieferung bezahlen: 3,75 £ (4,36 €) pro Lieferung.

Deliveroo behauptet, dass Fahrer dadurch nicht weniger als vorher verdienen würden. Weiter behauptet Deliveroo, dass Fahrer sich mehr Flexibilität wünschen würden und dass das neue System Fahrern mehr Freiheit geben würde. Und dabei fehlt es Deliveroo nicht an Geld: gerade haben sie von Investoren 242 Millionen € bekommen, die Firma wird mit über 1 Mrd. $ bewertet.

ABER die Londoner Deliveroo-Fahrer wollten diesen schönen Worten nicht glauben. Am 10. um 17:00 versammelten sich über 100 Fahrer vor dem Büro von Deliveroo zum Protest.

Hier ein paar Stimmen von Fahrern: "Sometimes you might be hanging round for an hour for a delivery. August is a really quiet month - in wintertime when people get lazy you do better. It varies. We need something ab bit more consistent, something more reliable. We have kids, we have rent, we can't deal with uncertainty." (Manchmal hängt man eine Stunde rum bis zur nächsten Lieferung. August ist ein ruhiger Monat - im Winter, wenn die Leute faul sind, geht es besser. Es kann sehr unterschiedlich sein. Wir brauchen was konsistenteres, etwas verlässlicheres. Wir haben Kinder, wir müssen Miete zahlen, wir können solche Ungewissheiten nicht tragen.)

"We work in snow, we work in rain. They don't give you a place to sit down." (Wir arbeiten im Schnee, wir arbeiten im Regen. Und die geben uns keinen Platz zum Sitzen.)

Die Fahrer waren sehr entschlossen und gut gelaunt, auch mediale Aufmerksamkeit gabs und etliche Unterstützer sind zu den Streiks gekommen. Über 10.000 £ wurden per crowd-funding für die Streikenden gesammelt. Die unabhängige Gewerkschaft Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, Couriers & Logistics Branche (IWGB-CLB) hat den Streik unterstützt. Die Beschwichtigungsversuche des Managements wurden einfach ausgebuht.

Die Forderungen der Fahrer gehen weiter: - 9 £ pro Stunde + 1 £ pro Lieferung + Kosten für Moped und Trinkgeld

Fahrer kritisieren, dass sie einem Verkehrsunfall seitens Deliveroo völlig allein gelassen werden.

Was heißt das für Deliveroo-Fahrer in Berlin? Wird Deliveroo dasselbe in bunt in Berlin versuchen? Vielleicht mit einer neuen Taktik?

Video: http://de.labournet.tv/video/7052/wilder-streik-von-deliveroo-fahrerinnen
Berichte der Gewerkschaft: https://iwgbclb.wordpress.com/
Twitter hashtag: https://twitter.com/hashtag/DELIVEROOSTRIKE

Protest tomorrow demanding reinstatement of sacked worker. Meet 8am Black Swan Yard off Bermondsey Street SE1

Can we change the headline to "Wildcat strikes at Deliveroo and UberEats" so that it comes up in google searches for UberEats strike?

There is also this initiative supported by a section of Plan C which might garner wider support around the country:
www.weareplanc.org/blog/a-new-initiative-rebel-roo-1/

The Plan C supported effort I mentioned above is just one small indication of efforts by Deliveroo drivers to get organised but would real progress alongside competition from other companies lead eventually to this:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2016/dec/04/robochops-on-the-road-with-a-food-delivery-droid
or a revival of 'Luddism' as a necessary strategy?
Thought this item kind of linked up with other discussion threads on the implications of AI and other emerging new technologies.

So the second edition of 'RebelRoo' is out now and can be downloaded for distribution here:
www.weareplanc.org/blog/rebel-roo-2/
There are short reports from London. Brighton, Berlin and Rome/Turin and promotion for the IWGB and IWW.
If any libcommers are in Deliveroo or similar jobs it's worth a look and maybe update this thread.

Bumping this thread up just to keep it and related issues I've mentioned above alive a bit longer.

And third issue available here now;
www.weareplanc.org/blog/rebel-roo-3/
They are also promoting the London 'Transnational Strike' assembly 10th-11th Feb 2017 which appears to be a worthwhile objective even if this particular initiative may currently lack the organising capacity to deliver anything substantial in practice?
(information on this last initiative here: https://www.facebook.com/events/956438541156253)

The 'Logistics Strike' session of the above London Assembly has a relevant audio discussion with contributions from the IWGB, IWW, SI COBAS and Plan C here:
www.weareplanc.org/blog/assembling-the-strike-recordings-from-the-tss-assembly/
Some references to a few of the more recent small victories of 'precarious' workers and suggestions about taking these forward but generally illustrates the low level of organised collective class action in the UK at present as compared with Italy and elsewhere. A rather mixed bag of sometimes confused contributions from the floor but I suppose things have to start somewhere.

Not sure if this the best thread to put this in, but I just wanted to say that the Plan C industrial bulletins for deliveroo/food couriers are freakin' sweet!

As a model for what propaganda should look and read like, I just can't remember seeing anything better:

http://www.weareplanc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/bulletin-4-front-back.pdf

Not so good progress in Leeds where they need more help. See here:
https://nothingiseverlost.wordpress.com/2017/02/25/support-the-leeds-deliveroo-hardship-fund/