FOOD delivery giant Deliveroo reported a boost in sales today, while its drivers continue to endure “Dickensian” working conditions. 

The takeaway platform reported £1.1 billion in sales for the fourth quarter in Britain and Ireland — a 7 per cent increase compared to the previous year. 

Deliveroo’s founder Will Shu said he was “really proud of the team’s execution.”

However Shaf Hussein, the couriers chair of IWGB union, which represents some of the drivers, accused Mr Shu of “pushing his couriers into destitution” while rubbing his hands together at the prospect of higher profits.

He said: “Working poverty is now the reality for an increasing number of riders, whose pay Deliveroo is continually driving down even as the cost of living soars.”

Drivers are paid as little as £2-an-hour, according to a survey by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

James Farrar, director of Worker Info Exchange, which monitors the rights of gig economy workers, highlighted that shareholders had “devoured” a 40 per cent increase in the share price in the last 12 months “while rider pay has fallen through the floor.”

He said: “The secret of the spectacular success of Deliveroo’s business model is the merciless use of AI and automated decision-making systems to exploit some of the most vulnerable workers in Britain today.”

Ben Wray, of The Gig Economy project, said: “Part of the reason why Deliveroo can get away with Dickensian working conditions is because so many of their riders are undocumented migrants without the legal right-to-work, and therefore have very little choice but to accept poverty pay in lieu of an alternative way of attaining an income.

“Deliveroo’s sales growth has been built on the back of impoverished, black market labour, hardly a great British success story.”