Drivers delivering groceries for Ocado are earning less than the minimum wage, the Observer can reveal.
The drivers, who deliver orders for the online retailer’s rapid delivery service, Ocado Zoom, were previously guaranteed an hourly wage of £14. But they are not employed directly by Ocado and claim their income plunged after the company brought in a new delivery partner, Ryde, in June.
Faizan Babar, who has been delivering Ocado groceries for more than two years, said he could not afford to take his two young daughters on holiday this year or replace their broken scooter. “I’m making on average £50 on a 10-hour shift. And we pay for our own cars, tax, fuel and insurance out of that. It works out less than £5 an hour. Ocado is treating us like dirt.”
Babar, 30, works from 7am to 8pm some days just to keep up with his bills – anything else is a luxury he cannot afford. “I can’t give any time to my daughters or wife. I can’t even take them on a day out,” he said. “My daughter wants to go to Chessington [theme park] but I can’t afford it. I feel horrible. I can’t talk to her about it.”
Babar said that many of his colleagues had seen their earnings fall by between 50% and 70% since Ryde took over from Ocado’s previous delivery partner.
Payslips seen by the Observer show that Babar earned an estimated £5 an hour in the first week of August and £2.91 an hour in the last week of July. “It’s not enough to survive on. I’m having to claim universal credit,” he said. “Every one of us is struggling.”
The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which represents the drivers, said Ocado should take responsibility for the plight of a loyal group of workers who carried on working throughout successive lockdowns. “These drivers are key workers who risked their lives during the pandemic delivering vital supplies for Ocado but are now seeing their pay slashed by a company that has seen profits skyrocket,” said Alex Marshall, the union’s president.
“They should be treated as the heroes they are. Ocado needs to take responsibility and bring these workers in-house.”
The union will send an open letter to Ocado this week, accusing the company of abandoning a precarious and predominately minority ethnic workforce. It warns that the IWGB will begin a public campaign against Ocado unless it enters into negotiations. The company reported group profits that rose by nearly £30m to £73.1m in February, but has recently seen sales slip as shoppers return to pre-Covid habits.
But the rapid delivery market is expanding, with huge amounts of venture capital pouring into courier firms attempting to replace smaller top-up purchases made in corner shops with ultra-quick drop-offs, usually within an hour of ordering. Ocado, whose CEO, Tim Steiner, received a £58.7m pay packet in 2019, is planning to roll out Ocado Zoom…
Read More: Ocado drivers ‘paid less than £5 an hour’ | Ocado