Foodora couriers found works council
April 28, 2017
Bicycle couriers working for the app-based restaurant delivery service Foodora in Vienna have founded a works council (“Betriebsrat” in German), the Austrian transport and services union vida announced on April 12. vida supported the efforts of the couriers to form the works council. To our knowledge this is the first works council in the world to be founded for an app- or platform-based business.
As in some other European countries, works councils in Austria have legal rights to information and consultation on major business decisions.
The main goal of the new works council is to negotiate an agreement on working conditions between couriers and management. “We want to improve working conditions, for example increased pay for working in difficult conditions such as at night or in winter,” said Adele Siegl, chair of the works conucil. “Without the enthusiasm and commitment of us as riders, Foodora’s success as a business would not be possible. We would like the company to appreciate this and to earn our enthusiasm.”
Further goals include reducing the number of “free” service contracts (“freie Dienstverträge”) and increasing the number of proper employment contracts among the couriers; under the latter category workers have rights to paid vacation and sick leave and may earn holiday bonus pay.
More information (in German):
