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The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has discovered that Greg Marsh, one of the panel members of the Taylor review, is an early investor in Deliveroo. The Union said this was a matter of ‘grave concern’ and already considers the review ‘heavily skewed towards the interests of business’, rather than workers. 

According to a press release from 2014, Marsh, founder of online flat rental company onefinestay, participated in the company’s Series A funding round. As recently as 2016 he was presenting himself as a Deliveroo investor.

IWGB General Secretary Dr Jason Moyer-Lee said: “If he still has these shares it is a total conflict of interest and even if he no longer has the shares the idea that a former Deliveroo investor would be one of the people making recommendations on employment rights in the gig economy undermines the entire integrity of this process. People should take with a large grain of salt anything they recommend.”

The IWGB has sent a Freedom of Information request asking for more information on what the panel knew about Marsh’s investment and what process was undertaken to select the members of the panel.

Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said in reaction to the review published today, that it was no surprise the recommendations were ‘weak’:

“It is no surprise these seven points are so weak and business friendly given Taylor was commissioned by a Tory government that forced through the Trade Union Act that had at its core the aim of undermining the collective strength of workers.

“If they are representative of the full report, it will fall woefully short of being a serious attempt to improve workers’ rights and will offer nothing to the growing army of people exploited on zero hours contracts and in insecure work, and nothing to the millions living in poverty because of low wages.”

Unite’s General Secretary, Len McCluskey yesterday remarked on the urgency of the situation, with workers across the country feeling that work does not pay;

 “Workers are being hit by a triple whammy of rising living costs, falling wages and increasing insecurity. 
 
“We need better answers from government on this because for far too many in this country, the bald truth is that work simply does not pay. 
 
“Workplace insecurity is being super-charged not by gig-working alone, but by the deliberate and bogus use of self-employment, by the continuing use of zero hours contracts and the misuse of agency working where there ought to be permanent employment. 
 
“The denial of basic rights and a fair wage to growing numbers of workers is a scandal on a huge scale.  It must be addressed.”