Bristol’s Deliveroo staff demand better working conditions

Deliveroo staff plan to strike this Valentine’s Day. A founding member of Bristol Couriers’ Network talks about how Bristol’s Deliveroo employees’s plans.

Couriers intend to break-up people’s plans for a romantic takeaway on their Valentine’s Day strike, but that is just part of the reason Bristol is joining four other UK cities in striking on this traditionally busy day for delivery drivers. Paul, a member of Bristol Courier’s Network emphasised the need to act in solidarity with other cities, saying: “we heard that cities like Bournemouth were planning strikes and we wanted to show them some love on Valentine’s Day”.

But Bristol’s determination for strike action this week also reveals a strengthening bond amongst the courier community within the city.

“We’re trying a new type of strike where we choose the time on the day itself, partly to keep Deliveroo guessing, but also to test our organisational abilities. We wanted to try something new. It’s a bit of an experiment,” says Paul.

The latest strike follows a chain of others over recruitment, increased distances, fewer deliveries, and increasing unpaid waiting times in restaurants. These factors are contributing to a decline in average pay, according to couriers.

Bristol’s first Deliveroo strike took place on 4 October 2018 as part of the national ‘Fast Food Shutdown’. “That’s when we found a real organising opportunity for us in Bristol, and a few months after that, we set up Bristol Couriers Network (BCN),” says Paul.

The BCN has enabled motorcyclists and cyclists – the “two parts of the Deliveroo employee community,”- to come together. These groups combined forces for strike action on 18 January and on 1 February, all turning off their apps and calling for some key demands: a recruitment freeze, £5 per delivery, paid waiting times, and a higher pay per distance. “We got organised, we started actively recruiting,” says Paul.

Mayor Marvin Rees has previously shown support for riders striking in January, encouraging Bristol’s employers to pay a Living Wage.

According to organisers, the continued strike action has had a promising effect: “Strikes have gone really well. There was an impromptu strike which saw 130 restaurants turn the app off because no one was delivering food. Then we did a flash occupation of restaurants.

“It’s just good to meet other drivers who feel exactly the same way and to take that moment of solidarity.”

Repeated strikes have seen an increasing turnout in Bristol, and, according to the BCN, they have seen “Deliveroo looking more and more rattled, attempting to break strikes with temporary pay boosts.” Future ambitions of the community group include getting Deliveroo to sit down with them by the end of the year.

The flash strike, scheduled for one hour, will be “a bit of a party” for Bristol couriers who will celebrate their coming together on College Green with music, drink, and food.

Read more: ‘Deliveroo needs to show a little more love for its couriers’