London Cycling Instructors appeal to Mayor Sadiq Khan to support them through Covid-19 Crisis, as Government Self-Employed Scheme falls short

• Hundreds of cycle instructors in and around London have lost their livelihoods to the Covid-19 pandemic, receiving little or no support from the government.
• Sadiq Khan asked to ensure TfL honours existing contracts, to retain cycle instructor workforce for London after lockdown.

8 April: The Cycle Instructors Branch of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is asking Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to compel all London boroughs to use their Transport for London (TfL) budgets - which are already allocated for cycling instructors - to pay the full wage they were due for booked work during the school summer term. Where instructors accept bookings on a flexible basis rather than in advance, an average based on the last 12 weeks of invoicing should be paid instead.

In a letter being sent today to the Mayor, Cycling and Walking Commissioner Will Norman and 32 London borough councils, the branch will say that without this pay, cycle instructors risk falling into poverty and homelessness. But by honouring existing and potential contracts instructors would be protected without costing London boroughs or TfL an extra penny.

The IWGB has also launched a petition today to support their demands to the Mayor.

Without this intervention from the Mayor, instructors say relying on the government’s scheme to support the self-employed will leave them with as little as 25% of their usual income for this period, while some will receive nothing. This is due in part to the seasonal nature of their work. Some earn as much as 40% of their annual income during the summer term but the government scheme is based on annual average salary.

Cycle instructors, some of whom have given up to ten uninterrupted years service for TfL, will be given a single one off payment of £800-1500 and will then have no access to other benefits or support save for £95 a week Universal Credit, assuming they qualify.

Michael McSherry, chair, IWGB Cycle Instructors Branch, says: “Like many precarious workers, London cycling instructors face destitution with little to no support from the government during the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the past ten years, we’ve brought the number of people on their bikes each day from 60,000 to 800,000. If Sadiq Khan wants to see that work continue, reducing road deaths and London’s carbon footprint, then he must honour the city’s existing commitments and make sure cycle instructors get paid through this crisis. After the lockdown, we want to get more people on their bikes than ever - but we can only do that if we keep our jobs.”

Claire Bowler, cycle instructor based in Newham, says: “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. I’m losing the majority of my annual income over this lost summer and I’m already struggling with rent and utilities. How am I supposed to find another job in the middle of a pandemic?”

-Ends-

For more information:

Emiliano Mellino

press@iwgb.co.uk

Notes

Even before the Covid-19 crisis, the Cycling Instructors Branch of the IWGB were challenging poverty pay and poor conditions. Flat wages have resulted in real-terms pay cuts at most companies, with some rates falling as low as £12.50/hour - £7.50 lower than 10 years ago. Cycle training is vital not only for the Mayor's own targets in reducing road deaths and injuries, but also to tackling the rising congestion and emissions crisis on London's streets.