Today on the 9th of October, or 10–9 in the North American way of numbering dates, is the Messenger Appreciation Day. The celebration has its roots in the US: in 1991 San Francisco proclaimed the day to be in honor of messengers after the 10–9 radio code meaning “Say again” or “What”. Since then, other cities in the US and Canada have joined San Francisco in appreciating its bike messengers. In Finland, Messenger Appreciation Day is known mainly amongst the couriers, who celebrate it in various ways within the messenger scene.

Today, on Messenger Appreciation Day, we want to show our appreciation to all the messengers, especially those riding today in the rain. More so, we want to point out that messengers, like other workers, need appreciation—not abstract thanks and lip service, but concrete valuation in the form of decent pay and working conditions.

On this day, we want to remind Foodora Finland that when the company issues statements about appreciating its “delivery partners”, the monicker it has chosen for its couriers, the talk must be backed by deeds. We don’t need empty statements of appreciation, but we need:

1. Better pay
2. Transparent shift allocation
3. A break space
4. Insurances
5. Employment contracts

Foodora couriers are not demanding the bare minimum of decent working conditions. Foodora, show that you really appreciate your messengers by starting negotiations and addressing the demands.