Despite courier demonstrations Deliveroo boasts growth phase

Despite the demonstration by couriers in Brussels, Liège, Antwerp, Malines and Ghent, the meal home-delivery platform, Deliveroo, boasted on Sunday having “growth of 34% in the number of couriers” in a week.

Deliveroo both denounces and condemns “acts of vandalism and intimidation.”

To recap, on Saturday evening between 50, say Deliveroo and 130 couriers, according to the collective representing 200 couriers, took part in the initiative in the various cities where the platform has an active presence. Those who took part are refusing to accept management’s wish to force all of its staff to adopt self-employed status by the end of January.

On Saturday, couriers arrived in Ixelles and the city centre to request that restaurants which use the application show solidarity by temporarily suspending their use of the platform. In Liège, couriers were planning to pick up orders and offer them to the homeless.

Even though Deliveroo claimed that it had significantly more active couriers on Saturday than the previous week, the platform gave a somewhat negative response on Sunday. It denounced what it described as “acts of vandalism and intimidation” by restaurants and couriers working with them, by a minority of individuals in Brussels, and the “thefts of orders” in Liège.

The platform stated, “This action, which aimed to disrupt the service and prevent couriers from working, caused both damage and reduced takings and earnings respectively for restaurants and partner couriers. In Brussels, these actions resulted in police intervention.” Deliveroo added that earlier on during last week, after the damage to the façade of its Brussels offices, it had reported the offence to the prosecuting authorities


The author: Michel DEURINCK

Michel Deurinck, born in Brussels in 1950, started his career in the Belgian civil service, dedicating over 30 years to public service. Upon retirement, he pursued his passion for journalism. Transitioning into this new field, he quickly gained recognition for his insightful reporting on politics and culture. Deurinck's balanced and thoughtful approach to journalism has made him a respected figure in Belgian media.

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