DELIVEROO couriers are set to go on strike in York tomorrow (April 7).

Riders are striking over pay and conditions with hundreds of Deliveroo employees expected to take part.

Socially distanced protests are planned in the city as well as in London, Sheffield, Reading and Wolverhampton.

The timing of the strike is to coincide with the corporation’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange. Riders, backed by the IWGB union for gig economy workers, say they are demanding a living wage, safety protections and basic workers’ rights.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism revealed last month that Deliveroo pays some riders as little as £2 per hour. 

But Deliveroo says the Bureau of Investigative Journalism's findings are "misleading" and "unverifiable" and that it had analyzed earnings of a minority of its 100,000-plus riders. It said riders can earn £13 per hour, higher than the national living wage of £8.72 per hour.

Alex Marshall, President (IWGB) and former bicycle courier, said: “Deliveroo presents a false choice between flexibility and basic rights but the Uber ruling showed that here as well as abroad, workers can have both. That is the least they deserve and what the public expects for our frontline workers. 

"It’s time for Deliveroo to do the right thing, recognise its riders as workers and treat them like human beings.”

Greg Howard, Deliveroo rider and chair, Couriers & Logistics Branch (IWGB) said: “I’m going on strike for my basic rights and those of all the other riders struggling to get by and support families on Deliveroo poverty pay. I’ve seen conditions decline for years and then working through lockdown I contracted Covid-19 and got very little support from Deliveroo. After the pandemic more people than ever understand this exploitation is no way to treat anyone, let alone key workers. The turning of the tide is clear. It’s time for rights for riders.”