A delivery man working for the Uber Eats platform consults his laptop before going to pick up an order in Paris, April 24, 2020 (AFP / Philippe LOPEZ)
Some 500 African delivery workers from the Uber Eats platform, many of them undocumented, demonstrated Monday in Paris in front of the French headquarters of the American firm, after the disconnection of 2,500 accounts of workers identified as fraudulent.
“What Uber is doing is disgusting,” said a Guinean delivery man whose account is still active but who came to support several of his colleagues banned from the platform.
The demonstrators, all Africans, marched between Place de la République and the French headquarters of the specialist in home meal delivery, noted an AFP journalist. “Uber thieves”, “angry delivery people”, “justice for delivery people”, they chanted. Police said they counted 350 protesters, while organizers counted 500.
“I was disconnected two weeks ago, I worked during the whole confinement, I ask Uber to put me in order so that I can work freely,” said Osseni Koné, a 34-year-old Ivorian who worked. for Uber Eats since 2019.
Like him, many couriers regret these “brutal” disconnections after several years of working for the American company.
“We were disconnected in a barbaric way, all they said was + fraudulent document +”, laments an Ivorian delivery man who prefers to remain anonymous and who has a satisfaction rate of 99% on the application after a year of delivery for Uber Eats.
Uber replies that these numerous deactivations are the consequence of an audit carried out after the signing of a “charter” with the government to “harmonize control practices between platforms”, in order to fight against the irregular sub-letting of delivery accounts. .
The 60,000 active accounts were therefore audited “by an external service provider” who identified 2,500 profiles considered fraudulent.
All the deliverers interviewed admit having used identity papers not belonging to them to create their profile but criticize Uber’s hypocrisy.
“For three years I worked like that for them,” indignant Ismaël Meïté, a 32-year-old Ivorian without papers.
“They knew very well that the identity document and the profile photo were not identical but that was not a problem. During the Covid we worked a lot and now they say that we are not compliant ?”, he denounces.
Uber Eats assures that each delivery person has been informed of the reason for their deactivation and that there is the possibility of an appeal, which none of the delivery people interviewed at the demonstration confirmed.
Uber also said it reactivated 3.8% of disconnected accounts after reviewing some specific cases.
A group made up of more than 700 couriers has been created on Telegram to ask Uber to regularize the situation of the couriers who have been banned.