Unions in Greece have organised a huge portion of the workforce, and this is the primary source of their strength. In the UK, unions struggle particularly to unionise young private sector workers, making the gig economy—which depends on this demographic—a corporate dream – but success on this magnitude will only yielded with similar numbers.
Perhaps, however, the solution for workers lies not within but away from these corporate giants. Across Europe, CoopCycle, a federation of worker-owned courier platforms, have set up courier co-ops in 63 cities. The member co-ops use and develop shared software, allowing new cooperatives to get off the ground without needing to pay for expensive app development.
One recent addition to the federation that exemplifies the benefits of worker ownership is Wings, a courier company operating in North London. Unlike Deliveroo, Wings pays all its riders London Living Wage and grants the right to sick pay and other benefits. All its deliveries use zero-emission transport like bikes, and most critically, workers have a voice and stake in the business, governing the enterprise democratically on a one-member-one-vote decision-making basis and receiving a share of any profits.
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