Dubai delivery workers go on second rare strike this month
ABC News
Food-delivery workers across Dubai are protesting meager pay and inadequate protections and have walked off the job across the city
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Food-delivery workers across Dubai protesting meager pay and inadequate protections have walked off the job across the city, the company confirmed on Tuesday, marking the second strike in as many weeks in an emirate that outlaws dissent.
The foreign workers contracted by Talabat, the Middle East unit of Delivery Hero, began their walkout late Monday after organizing on social media, crippling the application's services.
As fuel prices surge, many said they were pressing for a modest pay increase from their current rate of $2.04 per delivery — a wage less than what sparked another extremely rare strike among contractors for delivery service Deliveroo last week.
Deliveroo drivers make $2.79 per delivery after the walkout forced the U.K.-based company to backtrack on its plans to cut workers’ pay and extend their hours. Strikes and unions remain illegal in the United Arab Emirates, where the subject of labor standards has grown contentious in recent years.