Platform Worker Organising at Deliveroo in the UK: From Wildcat Strikes to Building Power

Woodcock, Jamie and Cant, Callum (2022). Platform Worker Organising at Deliveroo in the UK: From Wildcat Strikes to Building Power. Journal of Labor and Society, 25(2) pp. 220–236.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/24714607-bja10050

URL: https://www.jamiewoodcock.net/blog/platform-worker...

Abstract

It has been five years since the first strikes of Deliveroo workers in London in 2016. Since then, workers have continued to organise. The campaigns have involved five different aspects: first, wildcat strike action; second, networks and internationalisation; third, union organising with the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB); fourth, legal campaigning; and fifth, wider leverage campaigns. What is less understood so far is the different strengths and weaknesses of these aspects, and how they have contributed to the build of workers’ self-organisation and power at Deliveroo. This article explores the different aspects and considers the effectiveness of each. It concludes by considering what can be learned from these struggles for the understanding of platform work and trade union organising today.