Royal Mail subsidiary couriers take strike action over working conditions to demand basic employment rights

eCourier, a same-day delivery company based in London which was acquired by Royal Mail in 2015, counts NHS hospitals, private healthcare provider HCA, Deliotte, Goldman Sachs and British American Tobacco among its clients, who are expected to have been impacted by the strike action.

The company classifies its pushbike, motorbike and van couriers as independent contractors, which means they do not receive a guaranteed minimum wage, holiday or sick pay, and are not enrolled in a pension scheme, according to the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB).

eCourier workers also claim their jobs are becoming increasingly difficult due to additional charges; they say they are forced to pay a mandatory weekly charge for the use of their XDA scanning devices, which is needed for their duties on some routes, on top of vehicle costs, fuel costs, insurance, and breakdown cover, among other requirements.

The company’s workers started their two-day strike action on Thursday, calling for independent contractors to be recognised as employees, be paid the London Living Wage after costs, and for the company to enter into a collective bargaining agreement.

The strike action follows eCourier’s admission two years ago that it wrongly classified 23-year-old worker Damille Flanore as an independent contractor, and had wrongly denied him standard employment benefits. The company was then forced to launch a review into whether hundreds of other couriers classified as self-employed independent contractors working under the same conditions as Mr Flanore should be considered employees instead, The Guardian reported at the time.

IWGB claims this review did not include the participation of any independent worker voice or the union, and alleges the “vast majority” of eCourier’s workers on similar or the same contracts as Mr Flanore’s are still classed as independent contractors.

Striking courier and Vice President of the IWGB Max Dewhurst condemned Royal Mail for the subsidiary company’s alleged actions.

Mr Dewhurst told i: “We are so exhausted. We are working 60 hours a week and don’t get any holiday. How do you take holiday days when you have to pay for them?

“We’re categorised as self-employed, so we are not automatically enrolled into a pension scheme, national insurance contributions are not paid by our employer, and we don’t get sick and holiday pay.

“Our workers are having to go to tribunal to prove they’re not self-employed, so that they can state the obvious.”

The IWGB also accused the company of threatening couriers with summary dismissals if they refuse unreasonable requests, and claimed it is regularly denying couriers trade union representation in meetings.

“There’s no trust and confidence in the business. Workers [are getting] denied their trade union rep,” Mr Dewhurst claimed. 

“Royal Mail complains it is been undercut by other companies, but it knows its treatment is wrong.

“It’s bullish, intimidating, and people have had enough.”

Director Ken Loach joined strikers on the picket line during Thursday’s protest outside the company’s HQ on Whitechapel Road in London.

Union IWGB, which represents precarious workers, has taken legal action against the likes of Uber, Deliveroo and the University of London over its treatment of gig economy workers in the past.

An e-Courier spokesperson told i: “We are committed to operate best practice in terms of modern working practices and the need to ensure the most effective and appropriate delivery models.

“Many of our couriers prefer to work as independent contractors because of the additional flexibility it brings.

“We have offered worker status to self-employed colleagues where it reflects their actual working arrangements with us, and where they decide to make the change. We have offered more than 25 couriers worker status over the past 12 months and we are now in discussions with an additional 36 couriers about offering them worker status.”