In France, the gig economy platform welcomed thousands of immigrants during the pandemic, unions say. Now it’s deactivating them en masse.
These deactivations have enraged French unions, which believe Uber Eats is deactivating accounts as growth stalls. “The decision took place without workers being notified,” says Fabian Tosolini, a delegate of the Independents Unions, which represents self-employed workers in France but is not involved in today’s protest. “They woke up and found they were not able to connect to the app. Their revenue just stopped.
This was also the experience of Bassekou Cissoko, whose Uber Eats account was deactivated on July 28, 2022. The courier signed up to work for Uber Eats in 2019, using someone else’s Italian identity card. Uber spent two weeks verifying his documents, he says, before his application was approved. For the next three years, he says he worked 98 hours per week making deliveries for the platform.
Many of the couriers who were disconnected have Italian identity cards, which state they can’t be used to work outside of Italy, says Thomas Aonzo, president of the Independents Union. But he claims that Uber Eats has since 2018 allowed couriers to use this type of card to create an account. Italianare common among asylum seekers in Europe, including people who have entered the continent by crossing the short stretch of water separating North Africa and Italy.
The protest in France highlights Uber Eat’s fraught relationship with undocumented workers. Delivery apps, which are often easy to use and available in multiple languages, are attractive to people who are new in a country and looking for work, says Moritz Altenried, a researcher who studies digital labor at Humboldt University in Berlin. “Platforms [also] need these workforces, otherwise they’d be struggling to find workers doing jobs under these conditions.
This is not the first time Uber Eats has been accused of taking advantage of a workforce that has few other options. In 2020, prosecutors placed Uber Italy under
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
France, Germany, Britain press Iran on renewed nuclear dealFrance, Germany and Britain have urged Iran to agree to a proposed relaunch of the agreement limiting its nuclear program, saying final texts of a deal have been readied but Iran “has chosen not to seize this critical diplomatic opportunity.”
Read more »
Evenepoel sets sights on Tour de France, Giro after winning VueltaBelgian Remco Evenepoel has his sights set on winning the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia after claiming the Vuelta a Espana title on Sunday for his first Grand Tour triumph.
Read more »
KCON 2022 Saudi Arabia Announces Star-Studded LineupKCON 2022 Saudi Arabia has unveiled its lineup of performing artists! KCON is a major convention and music festival that celebrates Korean pop culture and entertainment, and it includes concerts featuring performances by popular K-pop artists. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the convention was held each year in countries such as the United States, France, Australia,
Read more »
Attack by ISIS affiliate leaves 30 dead in Mali as fallout from European withdrawal continuesAn ISIS-affiliated terror group killed 30 civilians in an attack last week. The violence comes as France and Germany withdrew from the country due to anti-European sentiment.
Read more »
Iran rejects criticism of its nuclear stance by European powersIran rejected as 'unconstructive' a statement by France, Britain and Germany on Saturday that said Tehran's demands were jeopardising talks to revive its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian state media reported. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the statement was 'unconstructive', adding 'the three European countries are advised to play a more active role in providing solutions to end the few disagreements that remain', state media reported. In their statement, the three European powers vented their frustration at Iran's demand in nuclear talks that the U.N. nuclear watchdog close a probe into uranium traces found at three sites.
Read more »