CUPW and Foodora Canada Reach Settlement for Workers

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OTTAWA — Foodora couriers across the country will receive a $3.46-million settlement after the company filed for bankruptcy and shut down its Canadian operations in April of this year.

The settlement was finalized by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and Delivery Hero, the parent company for Foodora Canada.

“This settlement shows what happens when workers have unions fighting for them,” says Jan Simpson, CUPW national president. “To lose your job during a global pandemic is stressful, but to lose it as a gig worker, with no guaranteed access to government funds, is truly terrifying and we’re pleased to have reached this settlement to lessen the financial stress imposed on the foodsters.”

In February, the couriers and drivers in Toronto and Mississauga, Ont. were granted the right to unionize when the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) ruled they were dependent contractors and not independent contractors, as was their previous classification. That decision allowed the union-certification votes, sealed since August 2019, to be counted. In June of this year, the results were announced and almost 90 per cent of Foodora couriers voted in favour of unionizing with CUPW, becoming the first app-based workers in Canada to successfully unionize.

“Foodora may have left Canada, but the workers are part of CUPW,” says Simpson. “We’ll continue to fight for their rights, whether it is through the negotiation of this settlement or through collective bargaining with a new employer.”

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