HUNDREDS of cycle instructors hit by the coronavirus crisis called for support from London Mayor Sadiq Khan today.

The workers, who belong to the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), say that they have received “little or no support” while they have lost their livelihoods.

In a letter to the mayor and 32 councils, the union’s cycle-instructors’ branch warned that, without pay, the workers risk falling into poverty and homelessness.

The union said that by honouring contracts, instructors could be protected without costing councils or Transport for London an extra penny.

IWGB branch chairman Michael McSherry said that the workers wanted to continue to get more people on bikes after the lockdown, reducing road deaths and London’s carbon footprint, but warned that this was only possible if they keep their jobs. 

Claire Bowler, an instructor based in Newham, east London, said: “We all need to do our part to help each other through this. 

“I signed up as a volunteer at the Nightingale Covid-19 hospital and I’m waiting for my shift details now. 

“I need our mayor to do his part for me too and honour our contracts so I don’t end up homeless.”