The UK Supreme Court denies Deliveroo distributors the right to collective bargaining | Economy

The UK Supreme Court has dealt a heavy blow to Deliveroo distributors, in a landmark ruling on economic relations and workers’ rights gig. The five judges who signed the ruling denied the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) the possibility of representation. Riders In collective negotiations to defend their wages and working conditions. El Supremo con…

The UK Supreme Court has dealt a heavy blow to Deliveroo distributors, in a landmark ruling on economic relations and workers’ rights gig. The five judges who signed the ruling denied the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) the possibility of representation. Riders In collective negotiations to defend their wages and working conditions. The Supreme Court confirms the decision of the lower judicial bodies – as the judicial appeal in the matter continued for more than seven years – which denies the existence of a business relationship between the company and its distributors.

Under the ruling, workers work as freelancers (depending their workload on what they assign to the application in which they are registered), and are free to transfer their obligations to a substitute or even carry out the work assigned to another. racer. “Distributors can reject job offers, announce their unavailability or even undertake duties for their competitors,” the decision said. “All of these characteristics fundamentally contradict any idea of ​​a working relationship,” he adds.

IWGB, which brings together under its protection the largest number of economic distributors gig In the United Kingdom, it confirmed that it is considering the possibility of appealing to the European judiciary – before the Strasbourg Court – in search of protection under international law. “The Supreme Court ruling represents a huge disappointment, after several years of legal battle to secure the rights of the Supreme Court. Riders With minimal labor rights. The Central Bank stressed that we cannot accept, as a union, that thousands of workers continue to perform their duties without basic protection such as the right to collective bargaining. “This is a false and dangerous dichotomy between work rights and flexibility [para aceptar encargos] It’s an argument that Deliveroo and other economic giants make gig “They are using it to legitimize the exploitation of their business model,” Han Adedo added.

The company congratulated itself on the Supreme Court’s decision and considered it “positive” for its workers, because it “values ​​the flexibility that self-employment provides.”

When Deliveroo last year reached a deal with the GMB union because it offered insurance cover for distributors, sick workers and the ability to be represented by the union, the company’s critics – especially in the IWGB – denounced it. A maneuver and an exercise in ridicule and hypocrisy. The agreement allowed Deliveroo to decide which union to recognize as an interlocutor and which not.

The company has not yet begun to realize benefits, despite the continuous increase in its income.

In Brussels, the European Union is studying how to provide greater protection for economic workers gig. The idea is that the company can control the number of working hours of the people at its disposal, the type of clothes they must carry, and even has the ability to force them to accept or not accept wages, while giving them some cheap recommendations from community institutions and adapting to them. Riders In the employment of employees with all the consequences.

In Spain, Deliveroo stopped operating for a year, before the new rider law was approved and entered into force, forcing the company to contract directly, or subcontract with another provider, its distributors.

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