UK Supreme Court denies Deliveroo delivery drivers the right to collective bargaining | Economy

The UK Supreme Court dealt a major blow to Deliveroo delivery drivers on Tuesday, in a landmark ruling on employment relations and rights in the economy. gig. The five judges who signed the ruling denied the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) the possibility of representing workers. Riders In collective bargaining to defend their wages or working conditions. supreme court…

The UK Supreme Court dealt a major blow to Deliveroo delivery drivers on Tuesday, in a landmark ruling on employment relations and rights in the economy. gig. The five judges who signed the ruling denied the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) the possibility of representing workers. Riders In collective bargaining to defend their wages or working conditions. The Supreme Court confirms the decision of the lower judicial authorities – where the judicial process on the matter lasted more than seven years – which denies the existence of a business relationship between the company and the delivery workers.

According to the ruling, workers act as freelancers (they base their workload on what the application they signed up for assigns them), and are free to transfer their obligations to a replacement or even carry out the work assigned to another. racer. “Delivery drivers can reject job offers, announce their unavailability or even undertake to carry out orders from their competitors,” the decision read. “All of these characteristics fundamentally contradict any idea of ​​a working relationship,” he adds.

The IWGB, which has under its protection the largest number of delivery workers in the economy gig In the United Kingdom, it confirmed that it is studying the possibility of resorting to European justice – before the Strasbourg Court – in search of protection under international law. “The Supreme Court ruling is a huge disappointment, after several years of legal battle to secure rights Riders Obtaining minimum labor rights. The headquarters stressed that we cannot accept, as a union, that thousands of workers continue to perform their work without basic protections such as the right to collective bargaining. “This is a false and dangerous dichotomy between work rights and flexibility [para aceptar encargos] is the argument made by Deliveroo and other economic giants gig They added that they use it to legitimize the exploitation of their business model.

The company welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision and considered it “positive” for its workers, because it “appreciates the flexibility that self-employment provides.”

Although Deliveroo reached an agreement with the GMB union last year that gives delivery drivers insurance cover, sick leave and the possibility of being represented by a union, the company’s critics – particularly in the IWGB – denounced the agreement as a publicity stunt and an exercise in cynicism and hypocrisy. The agreement allowed Deliveroo to decide which union it recognized as an interlocutor and which it did not.

The company has not yet started turning a profit, despite continued revenue growth.

In Brussels, the European Union is already studying how to provide greater protection for workers in the economy gig. Some recommendations studied in community institutions, conversion Riders In the employment of employees with all the consequences.

In Spain, Deliveroo went out of business a year ago, before the new ridership law was approved and went into effect, forcing the company to hire delivery drivers directly, or subcontract to another supplier.

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