Organise: The platform uniting Primark, Amazon and Co-op workers to demand better conditions during coronavirus

The technology combines the viral nature of digital petitions with conventional union-led campaigning, writes Hazel Sheffield

Bex Hay and Nat Whalley from Organise (Organise)

The canteen at the Co-op Regional Distribution Centre in St Helen’s had always been a sociable place for the delivery drivers to wait out their shifts once they had finished their rounds for the day. But when the coronavirus hit in March, sitting in cramped conditions with hundreds of other staff suddenly felt less safe.

Once Jason, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, had finished his deliveries, he would return to find as many as 200 staff in the canteen, some of them drivers waiting for up to three hours before they could leave. All because their employer did not have a policy of “job and knock”, a benefit associated with some delivery jobs where the driver can go home once they have done their rounds.