About forty home meal deliverers, on bicycles or scooters, demonstrated Monday afternoon in front of the town hall of Poitiers. They are not unionized, but gathered in a group they call “the delivery group” of Poitiers. Accompanied by the CFDT unions and the Independent Union, which represent them, they demonstrated against the blocking of their work account, often impromptu and without the platforms, such as Uber Eats or Deliveroo, notifying them.
Deliverers removed from platforms without justification
Because of their self-employed status, they have no guarantee of maintaining their employment. Some found themselves overnight without activity. This is the case Sankoumba: “I was very happy with this work. After two or three months, I received a message that my account was temporarily blocked. I waited then after two days, they sent me a message that my account was permanently blocked“, he says. For a year, this father of five children has been trying to contact someone to obtain an explanation, without success. In the meantime, he carries out seasonal missions, such as picking fruits and vegetables.
No direct contact
“We don’t have a direct contact“, adds Sekou-Marc, “it’s organized in such a way that you can’t come into contact with anyone“. If he has not been “blocked” by his platform, he is one of the coordinators of the “delivery group” and helps his colleagues. Among the reasons sometimes given for blocking them: a bad comment from a customer, but also a race refused by a delivery man, testifies Sekou-Marc. “We have a friend, less than a month ago, who was in a store in Poitiers-Sud. We placed an order on him, but he was far away, so he canceled it. Then he received a message that the account was blocked“.
We held the country for a long time. Customers were allowed to stay on their sofa, to continue to enjoy their dish quietly.
Low pay
Delivery workers are also demanding better pay. According to them, this has dropped since they work directly with “Uber Eats France”, as partner couriers. According to Uber website
while gross revenue did indeed decline in 2019, net would have increased, thanks to lower service fees charged by Uber, at the behest of couriers.
Sekou-Marc protests against the lack of recognition of their profession: “We fight in the rain, the cold, the heat, in all weathers and we have no recognition. We held the country for a long time, we avoided many restaurants going out of business. For someone who has worked for two, three or five years in a company, the dismissal (or the end of the collaboration) should be justified. And the person should be informed. This is not the case”.