GMB, a UK-based trade union has acquiesced to demands from parcel delivery service firm DPD to drop out of a planned Black Friday gig economy walkout after the company threatened to sue the trade union.

According to The Guardian, the GMB union represents DPD’s couriers and the company said that a planned walkout which will take place on Saturday and Sunday, would disrupt Black Friday deliveries.

Millions of parcels will be brought by self-employed workers who are paid per parcel delivered and have no have employee rights such as minimum wage or holiday pay.

Lawyers for DPD told Tim Roache, the general secretary of the GMB, that the company would hold the union liable for losses arising during the Black Friday weekend, the busiest delivery period of the year, if it continued to encourage the action.

The planned walkout involves dozens of delivery couriers at the Cambuslang depot in Glasgow, in protest of pay cuts and working conditions in the gig economy. DPD has described the planned walkout as “unlawful strike action”.

This effectively means that DPD will not recognise the planned collective action by couriers as a trade dispute because they are gig workers. DPD, which delivers for retailers including Amazon, Asos and John Lewis, says the union is unlawfully interfering with its business and argues it is not protected by trade union laws because it considers its couriers to be independent contractors rather than workers with employment rights.

DPD’s lawyers said that GMB was aware of the terms of owner-driver franchisee agreements and was trying to breach those agreements “with the intent to cause significant financial loss to the company”.

The walkout is set to proceed during weekend however, GMB has withdrawn its support in a memo to members. GMB told members they would be in breach of their service agreements with DPD if they walked out, that they could individually be held financially liable if they did not work and that their service agreement could be terminated. It said it did not support any walkout and withdrew any earlier indication of support.