Foodora Is Leaving Australia In a Shadow of Employee and Union Complaints

Foodora are leaving Australia, announcing they’ll be ending their local operations by August 20. The official line is they want to focus on markets with "higher potential for growth." They’ve flagged that they’re also pulling out of France, Italy and the Netherlands. But the move comes after ongoing complaints from workers. The Transport Workers Union were quick to call out the decision, noting it comes during a point where workers are owed millions in back pay. Speaking to the ABC national secretary of the Transport Workers Union Tony Sheldon reflected, “Foodora would rather pull out of Australia and leave thousands of riders without work rather than pay them the millions of dollars they owe."

Foodora report they pay riders between $7 to $10 per delivery, equating to an average wage of $20 per hour. But Tony stressed the ongoing issues with worker rights: “Foodora, like other food delivery companies, has denied its riders fair rates, superannuation, workers compensation, annual leave, the right to collectively bargain and even forces them to work shifts for no pay at all."

Alongside issues flagged by the Union, there have also been claims that an employee was unfairly dismissed for speaking out over wages and conditions issues. Riders have also reported a competitive internal hierarchy system called The Batch that ranks workers and makes them compete against each other for lucrative shifts.

Speaking to the ABC riders shared their happiness over the closure. John Chessal, a delivery rider who was hit by car while working for the company, said "I feel weird… this is nice news. It's like a dream come true."

John sustained back injuries and his bike was destroyed in the accident, but he alleged the company refused his request for assistance with medical costs. He claims they responded that it was “not our responsibility as you're not an employee — every rider needs to look after himself on the road." Barely a month ago Foodora were taken to court by Fair Work Ombudsman over three employees who alleged they’d been classed as “independent contractors" while doing the workload of full timers.

But the companies problems weren’t confined to staff. Since launching in 2008, Foodora struggled to find a foothold in the increasingly crowded local food delivery market. The Daily Telegraph report that they only held a market share penetration of 5.3 percent in Australia — making them half the size of competitor Deliveroo, and a quarter of the size of Menulog and Uber Eats.

Foodora said they will continue to manage local legal issues after they cease operations in Australia.