Meal delivery service Deliveroo may cease operations in Belgium if delivery drivers cannot work as self-employed workers. The meal delivery company speaks of a 'problematic' move for the Belgian economy.
An investigation into Deliveroo's labour relations was launched at the Brussels labour court on Monday, a process that was also previously held in the Netherlands. If the court rules that the delivery drivers are working as bogus self-employed workers and should still be employed, Deliveroo will 'not be able to continue its operations with the same intensity and punctuality', said Pierre Verdier, CEO of Deliveroo Belgium.
"Then we will only be able to provide our services to 2 per cent instead of 30 per cent of the urban territory," the CEO told Le Soir. "This is also problematic for the Belgian economy. Our company provided 40 million extra turnover for our hospitality partners in 2019."
CLA professional freight transport
In the Netherlands, the court ruled last year that Deliveroo must apply the collective labour agreement for professional freight transport. "The delivery of meals by Deliveroo should be qualified as transport of goods by road and therefore falls under the collective agreement for that sector," the ruling read. The meal delivery company was obliged to comply with the collective agreement retroactively. This did not lead to a strike in the Netherlands.
