Will your Christmas Eve pizza be delivered? The CGT of the Just Eat meal delivery company called for walkouts on Friday evening for a “delivery man’s eve”, in Paris and Lyon in particular, in order to demand an improvement in wages and working conditions.
Ludovic Rioux, secretary of the CGT for bicycle delivery workers in Lyon, denounces an “extremely high turnover, low wages caught up by the minimum wage on October 1” and insufficient support for equipment by the company.
Delivery people “must participate in the rental or use their personal bike, while the company should provide their work tool,” he underlines.
Delivery people brought to deliver throughout Paris
Another point of tension: the company recently put an end to the “zoning” system for the 500 Parisian delivery men. They can therefore now be required to deliver to customers at the other end of the capital.
“Work is becoming more physical, with an increase in delays and less quality services,” recalls Ludovic Rioux. Outside the big cities, delivery people don’t always have a place to rest and warm up, he adds.
The deliverers mobilized Friday will not block orders all evening, but hope to put a “pressure stroke” on this symbolic date of December 31.
CDI recruitments
Asked by AFP, the management of Just Eat affirms its “sincere desire to offer a more responsible approach to the delivery of meals”, while offering “prospects for development” to its French couriers.
At the start of 2021, the Anglo-Dutch group announced the recruitment of 4,500 deliverers on permanent contracts over the year in France, an unprecedented decision in a sector where the majority of platforms (Deliveroo, Uber Eats) use freelancers.
According to a spokesperson for Just Eat, this status grants employees “all the benefits and social protection associated with it”, thus offering them “a decent income with pay by the hour and not by the race, a salary fixed at the hourly minimum wage, and a bonus when ordering ”.
After a year, “only a thousand of these employees are still there”, however laments Ludovic Rioux, who evokes a “marketing argument”.
FO is preparing another movement
Favorable to salaried workers but skeptical of the “announcement effects”, the CGT regrets that this change was not accompanied by a real improvement in working conditions.
The FO union has no plans to mobilize Friday evening, even if most of its demands converge with those of the CGT.
“We already have a movement in preparation for the next few days, for all delivery people who suffer unfair dismissals, for our working conditions and once morest cases of harassment”, argued Jérémy Graça, FO union representative.
As a renowned blog news writer, I’ve analyzed the recent strike by Just Eat delivery workers, and the implications it has on the meal delivery industry. The strike, which took place on Christmas Eve, was a response to the company’s perceived lack of care for its workers, citing low wages and poor working conditions.
The situation is not unique to Just Eat; similar strikes have been happening across the globe. In the UK, Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats drivers have also gone on strike, protesting against their treatment as independent contractors rather than employees [[2]]. This designation has significant implications for workers’ rights, as it means they do not have access to the same benefits and protections as employees. The drivers argue that the companies should take more responsibility for their working conditions and provide better compensation.
One of the main concerns raised by the Just Eat workers is the extremely high turnover rate, which is compounded by low wages that barely meet the minimum wage requirements [[1]]. Additionally, workers are expected to use their personal bikes or participate in bike rental schemes, which is an unreasonable expectation considering the physical demands of the job.
The recent abolition of the “zoning” system for Parisian delivery workers is another point of contention. The system allowed workers to operate within designated areas, making it easier to navigate and organize their routes. However, with the new system, workers are now expected to deliver across the entire city, significantly increasing the physical demands of the job.
The CGT secretary, Ludovic Rioux, correctly points out that this is an unsustainable situation, with workers being expected to bear the costs of equipment and travel while the company reaps the benefits. It’s only reasonable that the company provides adequate support for its workers, including providing essential equipment like bicycles and ensuring fair compensation.
In light of the recent strikes and protests, it’s clear that the meal delivery industry needs to take a hard look at its treatment of workers. If companies like Just Eat, Deliveroo, and Uber Eats want to maintain public trust and loyalty, they must prioritize the well-being and safety of their workers.
Ultimately, it’s up to the companies to take responsibility for creating better working conditions and fair compensation for their workers. As consumers, we also have a role to play by holding companies accountable and choosing to support those that prioritize workers’ rights. It’s our hope that this Christmas Eve strike will be a wake-up call for the industry, and that meaningful changes will be made in the near future.
This is not the first-time ride-hailing and meal delivery companies have come under fire for their treatment of workers; in fact, in recent months, workers from multiple companies went on strike over working conditions [[2]] [[3]], workers on strike over non-employee policies after a court ruling declaring them as independent contractors [[3]].