On the 21 October 2020, the IWGB (Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain) presented its argument before the High Court of England and Wales to have the recognition that the UK government has failed its obligation to transpose health and safety directives (in particular directive 89/391/EEC and directive 89/656/EEC) from EU law into UK law.
The IWGB brings this action to protect its members’ interest, most of them being “gig workers”, such as Uber or Deliveroo drivers. The IWGB emphasized that these workers, who have shown to be essential during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, have been denied basic fundamental safety rights by being “at the mercy” of the platforms to have access to personal protective equipment (PPE). Therefore, this case could extend health and safety rights to hundreds of thousands of workers.
