Uber food drivers push for change
They seek employee rights such as compensation for injuries, pension plans and holiday pay
More than a year after Malawian driver Matthew was hit by a car while delivering food on his motorbike in Pretoria, he lives with a shooting pain in his foot and fears for his life when he hits the road.
His injuries, including a broken toe, left him unable to work for a month, but the company he works for — Uber Eats — said he did not qualify for compensation as he was in hospital for less than 48 hours.
“I felt totally abandoned,” said Matthew, who asked not to use his real name for fear of retaliation.
Yet he still delivers food for the company, having few other options for work, one of the thousands of drivers risking road accidents daily.
Reporting accidents ‘a waste’
Figures showed a 30% jump in road accidents involving food couriers in May and June last year as South Africa eased its lockdown.
There are no official numbers in South Africa on this expanding workforce but the Motorcycle Safety
Institute, a Durban-based research and training organisation, estimates there were at least 6400 active food delivery drivers in South Africa in 2020, the latest available data.
About 70% of drivers are migrants, according to the institute, while Duane Bernard, an Uber Eats courier who heads up a national, informal drivers’ union, puts the number at 95%. Drivers and analysts fear the number of logged accidents was just the tip of the iceberg as many drivers avoid reporting incidents due to their undocumented status in South Africa and concern of losing jobs.
“I have seen drivers die on the road, a lot, and so many injured,” said Matthew, adding that many drivers do not report accidents because “it is a waste of time”.
Calls for change
But as the number of accidents rises, increasing numbers of drivers are pushing for a formal, national union to help couriers fight for better working conditions.
“According to the South African law, all workers can form a union and be engaged in collective bargaining ... we welcome the creation of sustainable jobs,” said Musa Zondi, acting spokesperson for the department of labour.
When asked about Matthew’s experience, a spokesperson for Uber said “like most insurance policies, [our] injury protection has some general and cover-specific exclusions”.
Gig platforms such as Uber Eats — where people can pick up work in a flexible manner — are booming amid soaring unemployment and many of the workers are migrants trying to raise money to send back home.
Drivers say they earn about R8 000 a month, which is more than double
the monthly minimum wage.
‘What insurance?’
Martin, a Ugandan driver for Uber Eats whose friend taught him to ride a motorbike in two weeks, said that “with no legal papers I was getting paid peanuts as a plumber so I switched to delivery”.
But the work comes with its risks, with food couriers saying many drive without training or safety equipment, and with insurance coverage insufficient and poorly advertised.
Of 27 drivers interviewed — all of whom were migrants and had been involved in accidents — only five knew of any insurance scheme by gig platforms, including one who got compensation for lost income.
Hein Jonker of the Motorcycle Safety Institute said: “I was flooded with Whatsapps [from drivers]. I could see something was going wrong,” said Jonker, who collates accident reports from emergency medical services, traffic authorities and citizens. Comprehensive data is scarce and underreported, he added.
Fight for job rights
Lawyers said a group of South African Uber drivers are to go to court to seek employee rights including compensation for unpaid overtime and holiday pay, hoping for a similar victory to that of British drivers in March.
After the UK case, Uber agreed to offer guaranteed entitlements to its more than 70 000 UK drivers, including holiday pay, a pension plan and limited minimum wage.
“There is no one-size-fits-all approach and this conversation will differ from country to country, but we are committed to engaging with local policymaker,” Uber said in emailed comments.
Republished courtesy of the Thomson Reuters Foundation