The five-week strike at Foodora in Norway is over with a first-ever collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between a global food delivery platform company and a trade union.
On 27 September 2019, the Fellesforbundet union and the firm reached an agreement that includes an annual pay hike of EUR1500 for full-time riders. The CBA further guarantees these Foodora employees a winter allowance and compensation for the use of equipment at work such as bikes, clothes and smartphones.
The strike started on 20 August with 105 riders in Oslo after a breakdown in negotiations. During the five weeks that followed, the number of strikers doubled and spread to Trondheim. Foodora employs around 600 full-time and part-time riders in Norway.
Lars Johnsen from Fellesforbundet said: “We reached out to the citizens and got public opinion on our side. The riders organised bike tours every day, offered free bike repairs and had a soup kitchen to promote dialogue. Social media was also an essential tool of communication.
“While this is a new agreement that is based on Foodora’s pay award system, it incorporates many standard clauses from existing CBAs, such as an annual pay rise and early retirement. We will certainly be using this as a template for Foodora’s competitors.”
Stephen Cotton, ITF general secretary, congratulated the workers: “What these riders have achieved is fantastic and is an inspiration to other workers experiencing similar problems.
“Companies like Foodora want us to think that they are at the cutting edge of technology and are defining a bright new future of work. But we know that too often their employment practices are a throwback to a past we thought we had changed with strong union action. It is up to their workers to organise and reject this, to win the respect and rights they deserve, and the ITF will be there to support them in this.”
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