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Article

12 Sep 2019

Author:
CBC News

Canada: Foodora accused of pushing back against worker efforts to unionise, as couriers await decision on union certification

"Battle between Foodora and couriers could define 'how we do work in this century'", 10 September 2019

The battle between Foodora and its Toronto couriers will be before Ontario's labour relations board...as the company pushes back against their efforts to unionize, saying couriers are independent contractors and not employees.

If successful, Foodora couriers could become Canada's first unionized app-based workforce. 

In August, Toronto couriers for...[Foodora] voted on union certification, but the results remain sealed until the board decides whether they had the right to cast the ballots in the first place. At issue is whether people employed in the gig economy should be able to join a union. 

According to the national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), the answer is clear. "We consider the workers up at Foodora to be dependent contractors. The Foodora company...have the ability to hire, fire, discipline, and they also direct the work of these of these couriers every day,"...

...[Foodora] argues that unionizing could negatively impact couriers' flexibility and having to pay union dues would hurt the workers, who they say are often newcomers to Canada. "A third-party business would interfere with our current open-door policy at our Toronto office...Their feedback...directly influences the features and developments to the platform..."...