[Foodora successor in Austria] Working conditions at Mjam: They have gotten even worse and are called Foodora again

dossier

“News about the working conditions at #Mjam: they have gotten even worse. (…) Drivers are now divided into performance classes, rewarded with lucrative routes and punished with bad ones. Anyone who doesn't cycle every Sunday for #mjam but only takes one day off/is sick will slip down in the ranking. Even if you are late once, you get a penalty point for 4 weeks. Anyone who doesn't accept absolutely every shift does too. But then all that remains are services for which there is hardly any money. Almost all drivers at #Mjam are not paid according to their working hours, but according to the deliveries (…) However, if you want to survive on the starvation wages from #Mjam, you have to be able to do at least two long shifts of 4 hours to 45 minutes each per day and these are only available to those with the best ranking. Anyone who cycles 50 hours a week will end up earning around €1200 net per month. What I find particularly degrading is that #mjam did not allow drivers to use the toilets in the bars during the #CoronaLockdown…”Twitter thread by Veronika Bohrn Mena from July 18, 2020 – goes even further and is well worth reading! See background information and news:

• Foodora delivery service again in its sights: Federal competition authority is investigating on suspicion of abuse of market power
  “After three and a half years of market investigation, the Federal Competition Authority is investigating Austria's largest food delivery service Foodora on suspicion of abuse of market power.  (…)
  Since January 2026, notice periods of four weeks have applied to new freelance employment contracts, and certain working conditions can be regulated in collective agreements for the first time - although this is not mandatory. A new EU directive for platform work is now intended to reverse the burden of proof: in the future, companies will have to prove that their drivers are self-employed. Member states must implement the directive by December 2nd.
  Two platforms share the market
  The industry's problems don't end with working conditions. The Federal Competition Authority (BWB) is currently targeting Foodora for a different reason: abuse of market power. The authority examined the market for online delivery platforms for three and a half years and surveyed around 2,500 Viennese restaurants. At the end of August she opened an investigation. The BWB did not name the company, but Foodora confirmed it itself.
  The delivery market is divided: Foodora, formerly Mjam, holds 50 to 60 percent, Lieferando 40 to 50 percent, according to BWB. The platforms are no longer a small additional business for local businesses: on average, the Viennese companies surveyed generate a quarter to a third of their sales through them.
  Exclusivity, best price, penalty fees
  This dependency is reflected in the contracts between delivery services and restaurants: exclusivity agreements in which restaurants have to pause on competing platforms in order to get better conditions, and best price clauses that prohibit restaurants from offering their food cheaper on their own channels. In addition, unilateral contract changes and fines of up to ten euros if the kitchen processes orders too slowly. “Increasing dependencies of restaurants [on the platforms] can have a negative impact on prices, offerings and working conditions for delivery staff,” said BWB General Director Natalie Harsdorf in the press release.
  “The weakest link in the platform chain”
  For the Chamber of Labor, this is not surprising given the poor working conditions of the suppliers. The competition will also be held on the backs of the bots…”Article by Sandra Gloning from September 10, 2026 in the A&W blog (“Foodora delivery service again in sight”)
• Foodora delivery workers demonstrated in Vienna on October 25th for more money, the protection of the collective agreement and better working conditions
  "Drivers of the food delivery company Foodora demonstrated on Wednesday for better working conditions. Specifically, they complained, among other things, that the company employs too many freelancers and that they then receive too few orders to earn enough money.“Hardly anyone gets the hours they would like,” said Toni Pravdic, who is chairman of the central works council at Foodora’s competitor Lieferando. Foodora (formerly Mjam) emphasized that drivers had recently driven an average of 20 percent more hours than at the beginning of the year. “In addition, we have increased the average pay by 10 percent since January 2023,” the company said in a statement sent to the APA.The demo is supported by the vida union. She demands that the protection of the collective agreement must apply to all delivery workers. Only in this way would they be entitled to mileage allowance, allowances, vacation as well as social security and sick pay. The union wants to extend the KV to independent contractors by including them in the Labor Constitution Act. (…)There has been a separate collective agreement for bicycle messengers and food deliverers since 2020. It was the world's first for bicycle delivery. However, this only applies to around 2,000 of the industry's total of around 4,000 to 5,000 employees. The rest are freelancers and one-person companies (EPU), i.e. self-employed. However, they are not really free because they have to adhere to the delivery service's rules defined in the delivery app.
  Most are freelancers
  Foodora and Lieferando are the two largest delivery services in Austria and are active in several cities. In Vienna there is a third provider, Wolt. Lieferando has around 1,000 messengers, all of whom are employed under the collective agreement. Around 150 drivers are employed at Foodora under the KV, and the vast majority of the total of around 3,000 riders receive their orders as freelancers. At Wolt there are only freelancers and self-employed people…”Agency report from October 25, 2023 in orf.at (“Foodora delivery workers demonstrated for more money”), see also:
  • Photos on theTwitter ac from Johannes Greß
  • and #foodora, #ridersonstrike or #Vienna
  • Dossier:Collective agreement for bicycle couriers in Austria: Progress only “in principle”?
  • Dossier:Whether Foodpanda, Mjam, E-Food, Yemeksepeti, Glovo or Talabat: all together against Delivery Hero!
• Another MJAM strike and big demonstration on Sunday October 23rd, 2022 in Vienna for more money, respect and better working conditions
  • Lack of respect is the main reason for the MJAM drivers' strike
    “Adele Siegl is a works councilor at the Mjam food delivery company for the company's employees. Jakob Zelger worked for Mjam and interviewed her. The “independent contractors” are protesting for the second Sunday in a row today and are stopping work at the same time – a wildcat strike. (…)There is generally great dissatisfaction among drivers due to low wages and a lack of respect from the company, i.e. the dispatchers who award the orders. It was originally a group of Syrian and Afghan drivers who organized the protest because they are the ones who really feel a lot of lack of respect, from the dispatchers and the restaurants. Racism comes through too! The two of us don't feel this disrespect. The Syrians and Afghans are also the most vulnerable groups who are least likely to escape. Apart from that, the many unanswered tickets that lead to long waiting times make you dissatisfied. As a freelancer you can hardly defend yourself and you cannot set up a works council, so there is no other option than to demonstrate. (…)We don't know who our boss is, we work with an app. There are “Riders Captains” as contact persons, but they don’t really have any problem-solving or decision-making skills. You can't walk into an office and say: Hey, my salary isn't right, or I need a pay confirmation for my sick pay. You write a ticket and hope you get an answer…”Interview by Jakob Zelger on October 23, 2022 at Linkswende on the MJAM strike on Sunday October 23rd and:
  • “#RidersOnStrike Around 150 people take part in a #MjamRiderDemo of striking delivery drivers from #Mjam on Mariahilfer Straße in #Vienna.Striking #Mjam drivers in #Vienna are demanding more money, respect and better working conditions. Details will be discussed together today after the demo (150 people). #RidersOnStrike #MjamRiderDemo""Thread from @ nochrichten on October 23rd. 
  • “Hundreds of drivers are taking part in the #Mjam strike again. Better wages, equal treatment, and no dismissal for participating in the strike are just some of the demands. Passers-by repeatedly show solidarity with the protest march. #W2310The “independent contractors” are protesting for the second Sunday in a row today and are stopping work at the same time – a wildcat strike.”Tweet from Linkswende now! from October 23rd with video
  • “So far about 50 #mjam riders at the meeting point Christian-Broda-Platz for today's strike against the increasing work pressure and exploitation of the ferry bike couriers. An ORF team also reports. #w2310 (…) The independent, wildly organized protest is led by the Riders Collective (https://riderscollective.at ) and also supported by the left turn. #w2310 #RidersOnStrike (…) About 100 participants now #mjamstreik #vienna #w2310 Strikebreakers are consistently taken off the streets ;) #mjam #mjamstreik #vienna..”Thread from WienTV from October 23rd, 2022 
  • And about the strike before on October 16th: “On Sunday, around 100 riders from the #Vienna company #Mjam went on strike. Mjam belongs to the Berlin group #DeliveryHero and recently increased the work pressure through commission regulations. #WilderStrike #Delivery Service #Industrial Dispute“Tweet from Join A Union from October 18th 
• Lots of inconsistencies: Mjam lays off 150 drivers and wants to hire 1,000 soon: “We are treated like dirt” 
  “Mjam fired 150 drivers without giving reasons and presumably illegally. At the same time, the company is boasting in the media that it will soon hire 1,000 drivers.
  The termination came via email on May 11th. “Out of the blue,” says Mika (name changed by the editors) angrily. Mika will no longer be able to work for the Mjam delivery service from June 30th. A few lines, without explanation. Mika didn't know at the time that he was just one of 150 Mjam drivers who would be laid off. However, this is for no apparent reason. And without warning,as Mjam works council member Adele Siegl criticizes . When asked, Mjam said: It was about deregistering riders “who don’t ride for us for more than two months.” The company “deregistered her for administrative reasons.” “In addition, we also part with riders whose general work performance does not match our expectations.” An impression that Siegl cannot confirm. According to her, the mass resignation does not follow any discernible pattern. Those affected did not attract any negative attention, nor did they belong to a specific group of drivers. According to Siegl, full-time and part-time employees as well as part-time employees are affected. The unexpected dismissal is particularly bitter for full-time employees, says Siegl. Because some of them have recently invested several thousand euros in an e-bike.
  Freelance contractors are a particularly vulnerable group in this regard. Mjam promotes the model with more flexibility. The freelance Mjam drivers could organize their working hours better than the permanently employed ones.But flexibility comes at the expense of security . Since they are not employed in the traditional sense, they do not enjoy many of the benefits agreed upon in the collective agreement. Such as paid vacation or continued payment of wages in the event of illness. The average income is also usually lower compared to their permanently employed colleagues. And they can be canceled at any time without giving reasons. “We freelancers are treated like dirt,” summarizes Mika: Officially, at Mjam you can choose whether you want to enter into a regular contractual relationship or work as a freelancer. Currently, 94 percent of the total 3,096 Mjam drivers are employed as freelancers. Which is why industry experts doubt the advertised freedom of choice…”Article by Johannes Greß from June 30, 2022 in the ÖGB's Work & Economy blog 
• Foodora is now finally becoming Mjam: website goes offline
  “From October 30th, the Foodora website or app will be redirected to Mjam - Foodora brand will disappear in Austria - From the beginning of 2020, the new KV will apply to bicycle couriers. (…) Mjam was founded in Vienna in 2008 and sold four years later to the German food delivery company Delivery Hero. Foodora, in Austria since 2015, was founded in Germany in 2014. Delivery Hero sold its German business including Foodora to the Dutch “ Lieferando ” owner Takeaway.com at the end of 2018. Now the Foodora brand is disappearing in Austria. (…) In September, employee and employer representatives agreed on what they said was the world's first collective agreement (KV) for bicycle delivery drivers. There has not yet been a separate KV for employed bicycle messengers and food deliverers. From January 1, 2020, a basic wage of 1,506 euros gross per month plus Christmas and holiday bonuses will apply. Mjam boss Schreiber sees the problem with the agreement as the fact that different industries with different needs were lumped together: "Letters or parcels are of course delivered during the day. Our main business is in the evening hours and the 10 p.m. limit is a thorn in our side." According to Schreiber, around ten percent of the approximately 1,200 MjamPlus bicycle couriers in Austria who deliver food occasionally or regularly have a permanent job. The new collective agreement will only apply to them from 2020…”  Article from October 29, 2019 at derstandard.at 
• See our dossier on the collective agreement:Collective agreement for bicycle couriers in Austria: Progress only “in principle”? 
• And for more information:
  • #LaborLaw4mjam
    Information from works councilor Adele Siegl at riderscollective andon YouTube 
  • Riders Collective on Twitter 

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