Delivery riders for companies such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats are set to strike for one day this week to protest against "insufficient wages".
The action will also impact Just Eat and Stuart.com and will take place on Valentine's Day (Wednesday, February 14) between 5pm and 10pm.
The strike has been organised by Delivery Job UK who are attempting to highlight poor pay and working conditions many riders face whilst making their deliveries.
A post on their Instagram page said: "Sacrificing a few hours for our rights is essential, instead of continuing to work incessantly for insufficient wages.
"Our request is simple: we want fair compensation for the work we do. We are tired of being exploited and risking our lives every day... It's time for our voices to be heard."
BBC News reports that as many as 3,000 drivers and riders could go on strike on Valentine's Day.
"Conditions are shocking"
Joe, a courier in London since 2018 who plans to take part in the strike, spoke to BBC News about his work saying it was "incredibly isolating" and that "conditions are shocking".
He added: "The pricing of fees is aggressive. It's hard to overstate how sophisticated these algorithms have become. The fees are absolutely ridiculous."
Callum Cant, who has written about the gig economy and is a lecturer at Essex University, said changes to fees meant couriers had seen a 40% drop in wages in real terms since 2018.
"With a minimum fee of £2.80, most might only be making three orders an hour, and then they have to subtract their costs too. Some are making £7 an hour, which in London is barely liveable," he said.
In a statement, Deliveroo said: "Deliveroo aims to provide riders with the flexible work riders tell us they value, attractive earning opportunities and protections. Rider retention rates are high and the overwhelming majority of riders tell us that they are satisfied working with us.
"We value dialogue with riders, which is why we have a voluntary partnership agreement with a trade union, which includes annual discussions on pay.
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"We are pleased to also be able to offer riders free insurance, sickness cover, financial support when riders become new parents and a range of training opportunities.”
Uber Eats told the BBC it offered a "flexible way" for couriers to earn by using its app "when and where they choose".
It added: "We know that the vast majority of couriers are satisfied with their experience on the app, and we regularly engage with couriers to look at how we can improve their experience."
A Stuart spokesperson commented: “Stuart remains committed to providing competitive earnings opportunities for courier partners and delivering a courier-centric platform.
“We will be working with clients to minimise disruption during the impacted period.”
Just Eat said it provided "a highly competitive base rate to self-employed couriers and also offer regular incentives to help them maximise their earnings".
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