Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

This is a very old form of exploitation except that it is hyper-exploitation couched in modern facilities such as Facebook and social media to gain employment.

In fact, the contract from Deliveroo is quite similar to one I saw from a building company, Rhatigan. According to the contract, the people who work for it are self-employed, so they do not deserve the minimum wage but are on €4.25 or €4.50 an hour. They have no recourse or access to the WRC, and if any person attempts to go to the WRC or any other State machinery such as the Employment Appeals Tribunal, Deliveroo is indemnified against any costs or claims the person may make. Deliveroo is a growing company. I have a leaflet that was distributed to every home in Dún Laoghaire, not just restaurants. It exploits, in a hyper way, young people, foreign students and very young students in this country. A wage of €4.25 an hour is unacceptable, as is not having recourse to State legislation. Are we back to 1913? Can the Minister of State give us some guarantees that this will stop?

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