Couriers working for JustEat and their delivery subcontractor Stuart have been mounting a strike campaign which has now lasted over 10 weeks. The strike is now at a critical turning point. It has new potential to expand. But it urgently needs fresh donations to the strike fund. At the same time, we need to mobilise volunteers to support the dispute.
Couriers subcontracted by Stuart have been on strike since 6 December. On that day, Stuart finished the roll-out of a new pay structure which cut the base rate of pay per delivery by 24%. This was a devastating blow to drivers, who worked through the pandemic delivering food and medicine. Many were already struggling to make ends meet before the pay cut.
The strike began in Sheffield, and Sheffield has maintained a daily rhythm of strike action, targeting first McDonald’s, then Greggs: the two biggest delivery clients of JustEat/Stuart.
The strikers’ strategy was always: spread to win. Couriers understood from the outset that there was no way they could cause the company enough economic pain to win if the strike remained stuck in one city alone.
Since then, the strike has spread and strike action has taken place in Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Blackpool, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Chesterfield and Leicester. Daily or weekly strikes are still ongoing in most of those places.
Meanwhile, strike action has started to break out across the south of England: last week there were strikes in Colchester; Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire; and Ashford and Folkestone in Kent.
This accelerating spread of the action means that the drivers’ strategy is finally paying off. The breakthrough into new groups of workers across the south of England opens up the possibility of creating a sharp crisis for JustEat and Stuart.
But this places new demands on the union’s strike fund and demands more efforts from volunteers. The IWGB is a small and under-resourced union. To keep the dispute going, especially as it is now set to rapidly expand, more money is required. The central staff of organisers in the union also needs assistance: more volunteers are needed to leaflet couriers, spread the word, and offer community support to picket lines.
Please put the model motion here and donate to the Stuart strike fund or via Couriers & Logistics Branch account, 23-05-80, 17001094.