Previously, Ridesharing Forum reported Uber Eats allegedly hiring migrant workers, which the food delivery app successfully defended against.
But new issues are being hurled against Uber Eats, saying that their migrant workers in Germany, who are South Asians, are being exploited.
According to a recent report on TRT World, a Turkish public broadcaster, these migrant workers in Germany are facing harsh conditions, from contract breaches by the company to being asked to pay tons just to stay employed.
Statistics cited in the report stated that there is a huge gap in the workforce of Germany, which is why several people looking for work from abroad, particularly these South Asians, are seeking to fill those gaps.
One of them, interviewed by the news agency, Gurvir Singh, left his work as an electric engineer in the Indian northwestern Punjab, to move to Germany to earn better. The work: delivering for Uber Eats.
“I thought I would find proper work in my field. But the only option was food delivery. I used to manage over a dozen employees back in India, and here I work as a labourer,” Singh told the media outlet.
The first issue being pointed out is the tendency for Uber Eats to abuse its workers through the contracts.
“This isn’t just about young men working for Uber Eats, it’s about the exploitative system behind it, where third-party contractors control the work, often creating harsher conditions,” the media agency pinpointed. “Workers like Singh never get to sign contracts directly with Uber Eats.”
Their employment is being put at risk because there are no direct contracts with Uber Eats. Instead, they are signed up under third-party hiring managers, making the hiring process quite oblique.
“They exist only on paper. They get paid by Uber Eats, then they pay us in cash. If they delay, we have no one to complain to. If they disappear, we lose everything,” Singh told Ridesharing Forum.
What’s even worse, these third-party hiring teams are asking these workers to pay a commission or a placement fee worth up to almost $700 just so they’d get registered on the app, courtesy of the hiring company. Twenty percent of their weekly earnings also gets cut, plus they are either entirely or partly paid in cash.
And, these workers never get the chance to question the hiring company, since they are blocked on their instant messaging channels.
TRT World spoke with a researcher to shed light on this issue, who then stated, “Since they do not hire them directly or sign a contract with them, they do not pay them minimum wages, paid sick leaves, insurance, or any other employment benefits.”
Uber Eats has minimal to no official statements regarding migrant workers entering the platform, except for the official guidelines on their website, which seemingly state that anyone can work for the platform, provided they meet the criteria.
For instance, those looking at using their cars must be at least 19 years old and have a valid driver’s license under their name. The same thing goes with those looking at delivering via scooter or bike. There are age requirements and license requirements.
So, with regards to how Uber Eats is situating itself amidst the issue of migrant workers, the world is hazy.