Delivery co-op seeks to serve decent work conditions for riders

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Dijon, France, March 7 (AFP/APP): It may have taken a cracked rib, but Bruno Giraud is now joining a growing number of French riders trying to challenge the business model of meal delivery platforms.

Giraud, 40, initially found it cool that he could cycle for his job by delivering meals for Uber Eats and Deliveroo in the central French city of Dijon. But he was soon disenchanted with working conditions that are “not far from slavery” with no guaranteed minimum number of work hours or minimum wage.

“Before, one could make 70 euros a night but they recruit more and more deliverers and there aren’t enough orders, so the price of a delivery drops. It has become really abusive,” Giraud said.

Delivery platforms have seen a boom in business thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, as demand has soared in countries where restaurants have closed.

The revenue of Anglo-Dutch Just Eat jumped more than 50 percent last year, while UK-based Deliveroo on Thursday unveiled plans to enter the stock market with a valuation that could exceed $7 billion.

But the platforms have come under increasing criticism for not offering work contracts and benefits. A United Nations report last month called for urgent international regulations to ensure fair conditions for workers paid via platforms, noting that the rising competition was in some cases forcing people to accept less money per job than before.

The Uber ride-hailing platform lost a legal battle in Britain in February that should see its freelance drivers receive contracts.

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