I deliver food to your door, but not this Valentine’s Day. Here’s why we are on strike in the UK

‘We can’t go on like this. We’ve had enough. That’s why we started organising this strike.’ Photograph: Jill Mead/The Guardian

Today, on Valentine’s Day, delivery riders working for platforms such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats will be on strike, demanding higher wages. It will probably be the largest platform worker strike ever seen in the UK. I’m one of the organisers.

I live in south London. I spend most of the day on the road. I ride 80 miles a day on my moped over the course of nine to 10 hours, and usually make less than the minimum wage after costs. Because I’m self-employed, I have no guaranteed basic pay. Instead, I get variable fees for each delivery based on distance and other factors.