Thousands of takeaway riders from Deliveroo and Uber Eats set to strike on Valentine's Day

Action set for London and Brighton in protest against working conditions
William Mata11 February 2024

Thousands of takeaway delivery drivers will strike on Valentine's Day to protest poor working conditions. 

Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber Eats and Stuart riders intend to stop working as part of an ongoing pay dispute on Wednesday, February 14, from 5-10pm. 

The potential strike action comes despite a court ruling that Deliveroo riders cannot be classed as “workers” and do not have the ability to form a union. 

Riders have rallied against their freelance status that does not entitle them to benefits enjoyed by full-time employees. They have previously held strikes calling for pay protection.

This next strike will follow the action on February 3 that saw orders thrown on the floor in London and Brighton as 3,000 riders refused to work.

The action this week has been touted as bigger than the previous strike and has been organised by a group calling itself Delivery Job UK, although it is not an official union.

The group could not be reached for comment. 

Deliveroo has reportedly offered drivers who do not strike a £10 bonus for completing five or more deliveries on Valentine's Day. 

The company had previously announced a partnership with Ann Summers in time for February 14. 

Deliveroo said in a statement: “Deliveroo aims to provide riders with the flexible work riders tell us they value, attractive earning opportunities and protections.

“Thousands of people apply to work with Deliveroo each month, rider retention rates are high and the overwhelming majority of riders tell us that they are satisfied working with us. We value dialogue with riders, which is why we have a voluntary partnership agreement with a trade union, and we are pleased to be able to offer riders free insurance, sickness cover, financial support when riders become new parents and a range of training opportunities.”

An Uber Eats spokesperson said: "We offer a flexible way for couriers to earn by using the app when and where they choose. We know that the vast majority of couriers are satisfied with their experience on the app, and we regularly engage with couriers to look at how we can improve their experience."

Just Eat has been approached for comment.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in