On February 25, 2020, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (the
“Labour Board”) delivered a crucial decision regarding Foodora, an
online food delivery service that had contracted with independent
bike couriers to deliver restaurant food to patrons. Foodora is one
of the many “app” delivery service companies of the
modern urban “gig-economy.”
The Labour Board determined that Foodora’s independent
bike couriers were “dependent contractors” as defined
under the Labour Relations Act, 1995, meaning that they
could be considered to be a group that could be organized by a
union and entitled to collective bargaining and collective
agreement protections from Foodora, even though the couriers were
not employed under a contract of employment or exclusive to
Foodora.
