TRADE unionists launched a High Court action today in pursuit of health-and-safety rights for thousands of gig-economy workers.

The Independent Workers of Great Britain union (IWGB) is seeking a judicial review of the health-and-safety rights of workers such as Uber drivers and delivery workers.

If the union wins, health-and-safety protections could be extended to hundreds of thousands of people, many of them recognised as key workers during the spring lockdown that accompanied the first wave of Covid-19 infections.

IWGB says that gig-economy workers are currently denied the right to receive personal protective equipment (PPE) from their employers, and that any who refuse work that could endanger themselves and their families can be sacked.

Union president Henry Chango Lopez said: “During the first wave, we stepped out of our front doors every Thursday to applaud key workers for the vital work they were doing, risks taken for all of us.

“Meanwhile, the government turned a blind eye as gig-economy companies cut corners on health and safety.

“As a second wave approaches, it’s time for us all to stand by our front-line workers and demand basic protections for those going out to work each day to get us through this crisis.”

The IWGB argues that the government has failed to comply with its obligation to transpose health-and-safety directives from EU legislation into domestic law. 

While British health-and-safety law only protects employees, EU legislation also covers everyone who is classified as a worker. 

The EU legislation will lapse when the Brexit transition period runs out at the end of this year, but the government has repeatedly promised to retain EU-derived employment rights , the IWGB said.

Muslim Doctors’ Association chair Dr Hina Shahid said: “The rights, health and safety of precarious workers have long been ignored and undervalued.

“Now these workers, many of them low paid, migrant and black and ethnic-minority workers, are on the front lines of this pandemic and protecting them is the only way to protect ourselves.”

The IWGB has launched a crowdfunding appeal to cover its legal costs, which the judge has now capped at £4,500. 

An estimated 4.7 million workers are employed in the gig economy, according to the TUC.