The strike began late on Saturday and ended early on Monday, when Deliveroo agreed in a letter to riders to restore workers’ pay to £2.22 per delivery instead of the proposed rate of £1.89 which had triggered the strike. work stoppage as the company tried to cut costs amid soaring fuel prices.

The company has also backtracked on its plan to extend shifts to 14 hours a day.

Strikes remain illegal in the United Arab Emirates, an autocratic federation of seven emirates that bans unions and criminalizes dissent.

Dubai delivery men, who have become a mainstay in the financial hub as demand has soared during the pandemic, have few protections.

To cut costs, companies like Deliveroo outsource bikes, logistics and liability to contracting agencies – a labor pipeline that is prevalent in the Gulf Arab states and can lead to mistreatment.

Many poor migrants are driven into debt by paying their contractors exorbitant visa fees to secure their jobs.

“Clearly some of our original intentions were unclear and we are listening to the riders,” Deliveroo said in a statement to The Associated Press.

“So we have currently put all changes on hold and will work with our agency riders to ensure we have a structure that works for everyone and has the best interests of our agency riders at heart.”

The food delivery service is valued at over £6.37billion.

News of the pay cut at Deliveroo, announced internally last week as fuel costs soar amid the fallout from the war in Ukraine and ongoing supply chain issues, has been devastating for the 30-year-old driver Mohammadou Labarang.

It was the final straw, he said. Already he was paying unprecedented fuel prices out of pocket in the United Arab Emirates and barely getting by, with a wife and seven-month-old son in Cameroon to support.

When Mr. Labarang took to social media, he realized he was far from alone. Soon, he said, hundreds of Deliveroo drivers were mobilizing on Telegram and WhatsApp.

Dozens of riders parked their bikes near various Deliveroo warehouses in protest, according to images widely shared on social media.

Some have closed their apps. Others rested in their accommodation and refused to work. Others went to restaurants and urged fellow couriers to stop mid-shift.

“All around Dubai, we saw food getting cold on restaurant counters,” Mr Labarang said. “He grew far beyond anyone thought possible.”

As a result, the Deliveroo app, one of the country’s most popular delivery apps, especially during the final days of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, was largely down over the weekend.

Some drivers shared WhatsApp voicemails with AP from their managers at contracted agencies, demanding that they return to work immediately and “do not get involved in any illegal activity”.

Aware that they risked detention and deportation for striking, the drivers were quick to point out that their protest was in no way political.

“We know the rules, we know it’s sensitive, it’s not against the UAE,” said a 30-year-old Pakistani driver named Mohammed, who declined to give his last name for fear of reprisals. .

But he said he was also risking his life every day, cruising Dubai’s dangerous roads without accident insurance.

“We are human,” he said as he mounted his motorbike, returning to routine in central Dubai after the strike. ” We are not Robots.