TTwo rows of dilapidated, dirt-covered caravans stretch along either side of a road close to the motorway that snakes its way into the heart of Bristol. Rats scurry between water-filled concrete locks and into litter-strewn mounds of vegetation. Drug users stagger out of the nearby tunnel as lorries rumble overhead.

This is the grim camp where about 30 Brazilian delivery workers working for major companies like Deliveroo and Uber Eats are forced to make ends meet.

Celia Campos, 45, has been living in a caravan next to the locks for a year. “We left Brazil looking for something better,” she says in rapid Portuguese. “But most of us can’t make those dreams come true. We come back in a worse state than when we left.”

It has become increasingly difficult for couriers to make money delivering food, claiming their earnings are not keeping pace with rising prices.

While the national minimum wage is £11.44 an hour, delivery companies like Deliveroo and Uber Eats don’t formally employ their drivers. Instead, they are gig economy workers, who are paid for each individual delivery. This means that workers can end up earning far less than the minimum wage.

Campos works long hours for both companies, and in July she said she had worked 333 hours, earning the equivalent of £6.27 an hour. Her pay records show she was paid as little as £1.20 for some Uber Eats deliveries. “We spend as much time as possible on the streets. I work from 8am until I get tired… usually midnight,” she says. “Delivery work is no longer good. You have to be a slave to earn enough.”

She can’t afford Bristol’s sky-high rents, which are rising faster than anywhere else in the country and have also led to an increase in the number of car drivers in the West Country city.

The harsh living conditions, long work days and low wages lead to mental health problems in the camp. “I was depressed for a year. It was horrible,” says Campos. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. When you’re working, working, working and you have no life… that’s where depression comes from.”

Deliveroo, which recently fought off a seven-year legal battle to secure more rights for gig economy delivery workers, posted its first profit this month, reporting a net profit of £1.3m for the first half of 2024.

Uber, which offers taxis and food delivery, saw its pre-tax profit in the UK rise from £5 million in 2021 to £32 million in 2022. Its delivery business in the UK generated £700 million in revenue.

The Labour government has promised a new employment rights bill that would ban zero-hours contracts and provide sick pay from day one. But a plan to introduce a single status for all workers, giving gig economy workers the same rights as salaried employees, has been replaced by a promise to consult on a simpler employment framework.

Some Labour MPs have raised concerns about the party’s links with Deliveroo, given that the company has sponsored a series of Labour events. Deliveroo CEO Will Shu was invited to a drinks party hosted by Keir Starmer last month. Shu appears in a video recorded at the event and shared on the prime minister’s official X account.

Another of the three women living in the caravans is preparing to work for Uber Eats. Lorena, 28, has been living in a caravan for a year and a half. She says she earns £600 a week working 12 hours a day, which works out at £7.14 an hour. “When I first got here it wasn’t that bad, but now it’s become inhumane,” she says.

The riders look out for each other, because they say they get little support from the platforms they log into every day. They protect mopeds, fix each other’s flat tires and raise money for injured or sick workers. One compares the curbside community to a union or “sindicato” and another to a slum – a working-class neighborhood in Brazil.

Some still feel vulnerable to street violence. Lorena fears that anti-immigrant protesters will burn down their homes. “We feel threatened,” she says.

Her neighbour Lucas, 25, is resting in his dilapidated caravan. The window seams are taped over with black gaffer tape and the back is covered with tarpaulin. His double bed takes up most of the living space, which measures just five metres by two metres.

Black mold covers the walls above his small camping stove, which is dangerous when used in enclosed spaces. “There is no comfort here (in the caravan). There is a bed to sleep in and that’s it… sometimes I get demotivated,” he says.

On the other side of the road, another cyclist prepares to set off on his moped. Freitas, 32, is a qualified pharmacist in Brazil but delivers takeaways in the UK. Figures on his Uber Eats app show he was paid an average of £3.43 per delivery. “I studied for five years. I wouldn’t want to tell my family what’s going on here,” he says.

He is desperate to move because his caravan has no electricity, no heating and nowhere to cook. The windows leak over his bed when it rains. “It’s a struggle to live like this. You have to wrap yourself in a blanket at night,” he explains. “A lot of the people who stay here get mental problems because they live in a small cube.”

Heather Mack, deputy leader of Bristol City Council, said: “Most of us try to treat others as we would like to be treated, but this is sadly not what we see from companies like Deliveroo and Uber Eats in our city. Those who work for a living should be earning an income that allows them to get the basics we all need: safety, hygiene and food.”

Mack also called on the government to end the policy of creating a “cruel, hostile environment” to provide migrants with a route to legal work.

The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) – which led the failed legal campaign to secure workers’ rights for couriers – said the Bristol camp was “symbolic of the misery caused en masse by the gig economy”. Maritza Castillo Calle, vice-chair of IWGB, accused delivery companies of slashing couriers’ wages to boost their profits. “We should be absolutely clear that Deliveroo made its first profit last week as a direct result of its workers being pushed to new heights of deprivation,” she said.

Deliveroo said it was “very concerned” about couriers living in unsuitable conditions and would be contacting Bristol City Council. A spokesperson added: “Deliveroo offers the flexible working options that couriers tell us they want, attractive earning opportunities and protections including free insurance, health cover, financial support when couriers become new parents and a range of training opportunities.”

Uber said Uber Eats offered a flexible way for thousands of couriers to earn money: “Couriers have access to a range of protections, including insurance during their journey, when they work with us, and we regularly consult with couriers to see how we can improve their experience.”

Back in Bristol, Campos climbs onto her scooter. She is exhausted from the long hours she put in last night, but says she has to work again. “You have to deliver a lot when you get paid one, two or three pounds for every delivery … the owners of these companies don’t think about us, the couriers, who make them money – they only think about themselves.”