Deliveroo scraps plans to cut wages of Dubai riders

Deliveroo UAE says it has scrapped plans to cut wages and increase working hours after riders objected to the move.

The decision, delivered in a message to thousands of delivery workers, came after riders brought the food portal to a near standstill on Sunday when many refused to work.

There had been a proposed move to reduce the payment riders receive for each delivery – known as a drop fee – from Dh10.25 ($2.79) to Dh8.75.

Deliveroo initially told riders that other changes to shifts were intended to help them “maximise earnings” in a highly competitive market with other delivery companies.

This included a proposed maximum working day of 14 hours. Many riders currently work a 12-hour split shift with an hour’s break – for example from 11am until 5pm and 6pm until midnight.

“We’ve listened to your feedback on these proposed changes and have decided that at the moment they do not best reflect the ways in which riders in Dubai want to work,” Deliveroo told staff.

“For that reason we will not be making the proposed changes we had communicated.

“This means that the drop fee will remain at [Dh]10.25 and shift scheduling will remain as it currently is.” The mobile app was back to business as usual yesterday. Most food delivery businesses use riders registered with agencies rather than employing them directly.

On Sunday, restaurants across Dubai received messages from Deliveroo’s head office that read: “We are currently facing an issue with our rider agencies, where riders are striking and refusing to attend their shifts or deliver orders.

“Rest assured our team is working closely to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, while continuing to protect the Deliveroo rider earnings to remain the most competitive in the market.”

Deliveroo told The National that it was among the “highestpaying aggregators in the marketplace”.

“Our initial intention … was to propose a more well-rounded earnings structure for agencies to engage with riders in addition to other incentives,” an official said.

“It is clear that some of our original intentions have not been clear and we are listening to riders.

“We have … paused all changes and will be working with our agency riders to ensure we have a structure that works for everyone and has our agency riders’ best interest at heart, which has always been our objective.”

This month, Dubai launched a campaign to reduce accidents involving delivery riders.

There were 400 accidents involving motorbikes last year, compared with 300 in 2020.