We will legislate to protect gig economy workers and end the race to the bottom

A wonder of the modern age is that almost any item imaginable can be ordered to arrive at your doorstep the next day. But behind that remarkable shift lies a much darker tale for those delivering these parcels in the ‘final mile’. To find out more, I spent the day with a courier working for not one but two well-known delivery companies. Such is the pay on offer, the only way he can make it work is to have two rounds covering similar delivery routes, which – although strictly speaking not allowed – is widespread.

Delivery is only part of the story. The day starts just before 8am when we travel to the drop-off point to collect the day’s deliveries from the first company. The driver I accompany pays for a storage container out of his own pocket. The alternative would be to leave parcels in a shed or even a front garden. If they go missing, the driver has to pay for them. The delivery arrives in a van carried by another self-employed driver and they can arrive at any time. On this occasion, they are 90 minutes late, with another half hour sorting out the parcels into a route, manually inputting those not listed. Two hours into the working day, and not a penny has yet been earned.

When we head to the distribution warehouse for the collection of parcels from the second company, my eyes are really opened. Outside is a queue of vehicles, most of them ordinary cars rather than vans, waiting. After a short wait, there is a space in the car park, two parcel cages are collected from inside the warehouse and the laborious process of loading starts. People of all ages haphazardly load packages, some spilling uncontrollably over the floor, cars filed to the brim.

After three and a half hours, we finally start delivering parcels and time really is money in this job. Any delays, be it roadworks or customer queries can cost. At a rate on average of around 50p per parcel, every second counts. When a customer is out and there is nowhere safe to leave the parcel, there is no payment and a driver is expected to go back at least twice more. Only if the delivery is successful will there be payment, and this will vary depending upon the parcel’s size. I was told parcels were incorrectly marked every day, meaning the driver has to go back and query them. On average, about half of these queries are accepted, but there is no route to challenge the company’s decision if the driver remains unhappy. Only ten deliveries a day can be questioned but sometimes up to thirty are incorrectly categorised.

The actual delivery of parcels takes roughly another four and a half hours, meaning when we finally finish, we have been on the go for just over eight hours, non-stop. No lunch break, no quick cuppa, not even a toilet break. The driver has earned just over £80, which takes him just above minimum wage levels, but once you take into account the running costs – fuel coming in at at least £10 a day, insurance and vehicle costs – it falls well below that, and this driver has been doing his round for many years, so has optimised it to make it as efficient as possible. Even so, he has to work full pelt six days a week just to keep his head above water. He told me less experienced drivers are working 60 or 70 hours a week to earn enough to live on. There is no doubt their hourly rate will be significantly below minimum wage equivalents.

I asked the driver why he stays in the job when it is both so demanding and poorly rewarded. He told me that he is looking for a way out but needs to put money aside so he can retrain. However, building up savings in this job is incredibly difficult. The overwhelming impression I was left with was that he and many others feel trapped. They were initially attracted to the job by the idea of working for themselves, having freedom to choose their own hours and the opportunity to boost their earnings if they wanted. However, the reality is this freedom is too often an illusion. Any time off, be it for sickness or holiday, risks you losing your round. Pay is so low that they simply cannot afford to be ill or take a break.

Drivers are let down by a system that leaves them unprotected and feeling both exhausted and helpless. Genuinely self-employed people can negotiate their pay rates, but here there was no negotiation or discussion with the companies. It’s their way or the highway, on the threat of losing your round.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Labour’s New Deal for Working People proposes that all but the genuinely self-employed be classed as workers, with accompanying rights such as sick pay, holiday pay, a genuine living wage and protection against unfair dismissal. Giving everyone in the workplace basic rights and security, from day one, is an essential building block to creating a fairer and more prosperous society.

So many gig economy jobs inhabit the twilight zone between genuine self-employment and direct employment. They only flourish because the government has let them. Labour will legislate to stop bogus self-employment and the exploitation it enables – and end this race to the bottom. A Labour government will guarantee a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work as part of our plan to make Britain work for working people.

READ LABOUR’S NEW DEAL FOR WORKING PEOPLE HERE