FNV is demanding additional payment from Deliveroo on behalf of twelve meal deliverers

The FNV is demanding from Deliveroo, on behalf of twelve former meal deliverers, a supplementary payment of wages on the basis of the collective labor agreement for professional goods transport. The twelve meal deliverers were employed by Deliveroo without a collective labor agreement when they were fired by the platform in 2018. Deliveroo only wanted to work with freelancers.

In 2019, a judge ruled not only that Deliveroo must apply the collective labor agreement for professional goods transport, but also that the meal deliverers are not self-employed. The additional payments can amount to more than 8,000 euros per person.

Making labor cheaper

According to Marije Ottervanger, FNV campaign leader platform economy, the twelve former meal deliverers are clearly victims of platforms such as Deliveroo. Ottervanger: 'These platforms want to make a profit by making labor cheaper. Deliveroo fired its employees, after which they were allowed to do the same work as self-employed persons. For less money, with no certainty of sufficient work and without a social safety net. '

Judge judge

The claim of the twelve former meal couriers stems directly from the court decision in January 2019. In it, the judge ruled that Deliveroo is an employer and that the collective labor agreement for professional goods transport applies. Ottervanger: 'Deliveroo continues to deny that, but it cannot be the case that this company, despite a decision by the judge, continues to do its business. The judge explicitly stated that the decision could be followed up immediately, even if there was an appeal against the decision. ' According to the FNV, politicians could and should have intervened immediately and chose not to.

Appeal

The FNV brought the case against Deliveroo in 2018, because Deliveroo started working with bogus self-employed people en masse. The FNV states that the meal deliverers who work for Deliveroo are not entrepreneurs. They cannot negotiate their rate and Deliveroo will decide how to do their job. 'This means that they are not entrepreneurs but employees,' says Ottervanger. The union won the lawsuit in 2019 but Deliveroo appealed. That decision is expected in early 2021.