This deactivation has outraged French unions, who believe Uber Eats is deactivating accounts as a growth counter. Fabian Tosolini, a delegate from the Independent Association, which represents freelance workers in France but was not involved in today’s protest, said: “The decision took place without the workers being informed. “They wake up to find they can’t connect to the app. Their revenue just stops.”
This is also the experience of Bassekou Cissoko, whose Uber Eats account was deactivated on July 28, 2022. The courier registered to work for Uber Eats in 2019, using his Italian ID. others. According to him, Uber spent two weeks verifying his documents before his application was approved. For the next three years, he says he worked 98 hours a week delivering deliveries to the platform. “During the time of Covid, as everyone was trying to protect themselves from this disease, we gave our lives to Uber and our customers,” he said.
Many of the disconnected couriers have Italian identity cards, which they cannot use to work outside of Italy, said Thomas Aonzo, president of the Alliance of Independence. But he claims that Uber Eats since 2018 has allowed couriers to use the card to create accounts. Italian ID card common among asylum seekers in Europe, including those who entered the continent by crossing a short stretch of water separating North Africa and Italy.
Protests in France highlight Uber Eat’s strained relationship with undocumented workers. Moritz Altenried, a researcher studying digital labor at Humboldt University in Berlin, says delivery apps, which are often easy to use and available in multiple languages, are attractive to newbies. to a country and looking for work. “Communication [also] need these workforces, otherwise they will have difficulty finding workers to work in these conditions. “
This isn’t the first time Uber Eats has been accused of taking advantage of a workforce with few other options. In 2020, prosecutors placed Uber Italy in special management, assigned a court-appointed commissioner to oversee its business, after its Uber Eats business in the country was found to be exploiting vulnerable migrant workers through third party brokerage firm called gang boss. The same investigation accused the company of creating a “uncontrollable recruitment“During the pandemic.
Publicly, Uber Eats has long insisted it does not tolerate undocumented workers. Back in 2019, the company told The New York Times it already has 100 employees in France who carry out on-site checks on the working rights of couriers in the country. The French government does not seem reassured. In March 2022, Uber Eats and three other delivery platforms — Frichti, Stuart and Deliveroo owned by Gorillas—Signed An industry charter commits them to carrying out weekly identity checks of couriers. None of the three responded to a question about the number of accounts they have been inactive since the charter was signed.
However, unions say closing the accounts of undocumented workers does not mean they will stop deliveries. “These undocumented migrants, who have accounts in their names, often with Italian residence permits, find their accounts on the black market,” said Pimot, CLAP president. Such accounts, he added, can be found on Facebook or Snapchat for 600 euros per month.
To address the issue properly, unions and protesters in Paris are calling for the inclusion of the gig economy in France’s “regularization” process — whereby workers can demonstrate proof they have been in France for three years and possess 24 payslips can apply for permanent residency. Currently, unqualified freelancers and those working for Uber Eats and other platforms do not receive official payroll.
According to advocates, the regulation will give undocumented commuters the legal right to work in France, while also allowing platforms to access the workforce they need. Cissoko says it will also provide migrant traffickers with security and stability. “[I would] can pay taxes and live decent lives, like all good citizens of this country”.
