Home » UK Business & Employment News • UK Employment news » TUC criticises Mel Stride for promoting delivery jobs for over 50s

TUC criticises Mel Stride for promoting delivery jobs for over 50s

By Nithya Bose in UK Business & Employment News, posted August 6, 2023

The Trades Union Congress has accused Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, of glorifying the gig economy rather than tackling the actual issues older workers face.

The accusation comes after Stride suggested unemployed over-50s should consider becoming delivery riders.

During a visit to the food delivery firm Deliveroo's London headquarters, Stride said it was “good for people to consider options they might not have otherwise thought of,” including those traditionally associated with younger workers.

He praised the flexibility offered by the delivery app, emphasising the ability to log on and off anytime without a fixed number of hours, which he believes creates significant opportunities.

Stride said: “What we’re seeing here is the ability of log on and off anytime you like, no requirement to have to do a certain number of hours over a certain period of time, which is driving huge opportunities”.

TUC's senior policy officer for employment rights, Tim Sharp, said the reality of the gig economy is often different.

He said: “Often pay is low, there’s often no job security, little if any employment rights. It’s not the solution the government should be thinking about.”

He warned that Stride’s comments “risk glorifying the gig economy”.

Sharp admitted there have been improvements in working conditions, such as the union recognition deal between Deliveroo and the GMB.

But he questioned whether these jobs genuinely offer flexibility and support.

Dr. Callum Cant from the Internet Institute at Oxford University, who authored a book on working and union organizing at Deliveroo, echoed these concerns.

He said: “These jobs are particularly insecure because the wage is never guaranteed. People are always at risk of earning less than the minimum wage.

“The idea that people would be relying on that as a pension income is shocking to me. No one should be pushed into jobs like these.

“If you want to be able to earn decent money you have to work evenings, weekends, peak times. It’s the flexibility not to earn much money.”

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Deliveroo riders, like many gig economy workers, are self-employed, a status the delivery firm has staunchly defended in legal battles with the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain.

Alison McGovern, Labour's Shadow Employment Minister, criticised Stride's remarks, saying they underscore the government's lack of a coherent plan to address economic inactivity among older workers, which has risen since the pandemic.

While there are tentative signs of improvement in the number of economically inactive 50 to 64-year-olds, the inactivity rate in this age group remains high, more than double that of 35- to 49-year-olds.

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