During EM match

Bike messenger collective agreement: Strike here tonight

Last year, the Lieferando delivery staff went on strike in Germany, today it is the same in Austria.(Bild: APA/dpa/Christoph Soeder)

(Bild: APA/dpa/Christoph Soeder)

Negotiations on a new collective agreement for bicycle delivery workers have been stalled for months. That is why the food delivery staff of Foodora and Lieferando have announced strike action for tonight from 5.30 to 10 pm, during the European Championship soccer match between Austria and France.

The delivery staff in Vienna, Graz, Salzburg and Klagenfurt will be laying down their work. However, the delivery services Foodora and Lieferando are not expecting a high level of strike participation and are therefore not expecting any significant restrictions on food deliveries.

Money for sponsorship yes, for a pay rise no
The union is demanding a wage increase of 8.7 percent, while the employers' most recent offer was 5.8 percent. It is a scandal that there is enough money for UEFA sponsoring, but not for a wage increase for the employees, said Markus Petritsch, vida chairman of the road sector, in a press release. The strike is therefore taking place under the motto "You sponsor - we strike!".

Negotiations between employer and employee representatives in the sector have been at a standstill for months, with strikes taking place time and again. However, many bike messengers are not even covered by the collective agreement (KV) as they are freelancers or self-employed. There are around 4,500 bicycle couriers in Austria, only a good 2,000 of whom are also employed under the collective agreement. Lieferando in particular employs its delivery staff under a collective agreement, while Foodora mainly employs freelancers. Wolt, which is only represented in Vienna, also only employs self-employed and independent contractors.

Delivery services unimpressed
Lieferando and Foodora were unimpressed by the announced strike. "The strike call only applies to one shift, and even within this shift, participation within our fleet will remain manageable", Lieferando said in response to an APA inquiry. For the company, a wage increase of 8.7 percent is not economically feasible, as this would drive up pure personnel costs on the employer side to 19 euros per hour. "Customers would not go along with the necessary price increases, nobody can afford them", said a Lieferando spokesperson.

The strike will have no impact on Foodora customers and restaurant partners, the delivery service said in a statement. The "vast majority" of delivery staff are employed as freelancers. "In this respect, the strike participation at Foodora is extremely low and we can offer our service in the usual quality," the company explained.

Strikes also announced for the next Austria games
The union has announced further food delivery strikes for the evenings of June 21 and 25 - also during Austria's European Championship matches.