Read on Twitter
Thoughts and solidarity to all who knew Dede and Xiaojun - Delivery is a dangerous job, and the fact we& #39;ve seen more deaths of late isn& #39;t a concidence, it& #39;s a worrying trend we can trace back to the companies that organise this work /Thread https://twitter.com/RidersRooVolt/status/1312111045457059840">https://twitter.com/RidersRoo...
In the early days of the gig economy, the platform companeis were flush with cash and able to pay riders a wage that at least got near to being a) fair and b) enough to live on. /2
However, over time as they have sought to increase their company valuations, something has had to give. Currently, much of the gig economy is unsustainable. The companies *cannot* turn a profit. BUT in order to keep attracting the money of investors and venture capitalists /3
they& #39;ve needed to at least demonstrate the potential to do so in the future. These are the basic dynamics of the platform economy. If they can show a roadmap towards profitability, then the shares go up in price. And who owns the majority of the shares? /4
Founders, early employees and big early investors. Will Shu (co-founder, CEO Deliveroo) recieved £8.3million in share options last year whilst riders strived and earned nothing. Travis Kalanick (co-founder Uber former CEO) has sold off $2billion of shares since the company& #39;s IPO
Meanwhile, workers are working 12 hour shifts every day to make "less* than what they need to survive, accepting jobs with fees mandated by the platform itself. Now this is the important bit...
IF THE COMPANY IS UNABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE PROFIT, THE SHARES BECOME WORTHLESS AS INVESTOR CONFIDENCE IS LOST AND THE VALUATION OF THE FIRM DECREASES. Tech costs are marginal, there are hardly any employees. So where to save money? PAY WORKERS LESS
When workers are paid less, they have 3 options. Work longer, work fasterm, or both. When your work puts your life at risk every-single-day dodging cars and lorries, working harder or faster means more risk
More risk means more accidents - it& #39;s just a statistical certainty. More people taking more risks fighting over dwindling pay will = more accidents. More accidents = more deaths
A direct line can be drawn between corporate valuation, executive remuneration and driver deaths. Platform companies become slaves to the shareprice and workers are bound to the platform& #39;s desires.
These deaths are tragic. And whilst we don& #39;t know the details, anyone involved in the rider community will know that deaths are becoming a more regular occurance. We& #39;re loosing people more than ever before to this dangerous job. Because a few people with shares want to get rich
It& #39;s totally abhorrant and needs to stop. Unions like the @IWGB_CLB and the @TWUAus are critical in this effort. Solidarity to them and all those workers involved in the fight. 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✊" title="Erhobene Faust" aria-label="Emoji: Erhobene Faust">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✊" title="Erhobene Faust" aria-label="Emoji: Erhobene Faust">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✊" title="Erhobene Faust" aria-label="Emoji: Erhobene Faust">
