Demonstrations: the main union of independent delivery drivers calls for the suspension of orders in risk areas

The majority union of independent bicycle delivery workers on Tuesday, October 20, asked Uber Eats and Deliveroo to take measures to ensure their safety during future demonstrations, in particular by suspending orders in dangerous areas.

“We had a lot of feedback from delivery men and VTC drivers who found themselves in the middle of the chaos on Saturday without being able to get to safety,” Fabian Tosolini, national delegate of the Union-Indépendants union, told AFP. On October 17, couriers had to cross processions filled with tear gas; VTC drivers take streets in the wrong direction to escape CRS charges... Many were “caught in the middle of the clashes”, according to a press release from the union. The latter says he contacted the platforms on Tuesday October 20 morning.

Union-Indépendants (majority union on the independent delivery side and third on the VTC side) wants these workers to have the possibility “to find safety” and to cancel the order “without loss of remuneration”. But also that they obtain financial compensation for the shortfall and that they have a real-time alert system available to inform them of “risk areas”.

The union also calls for the responsibility of restaurateurs and customers so that they do not solicit workers in dangerous areas and that the platforms temporarily suspend shopping and orders if necessary. These requests were also forwarded to the ministries of Labor and Transport, according to the union.

Deliveroo told AFP that it had “suspended the platform in several places in France, such as in certain areas of Paris in particular to preserve the safety of delivery people and users” on October 17 and 18. And having “made contact with the delivery people impacted by violence that occurred outside the initially planned demonstration routes” as well as having “launched financial compensation for orders that could not be delivered”.

Uber Eats, for its part, declared to AFP that it had “communicated the measures taken by the authorities to delivery people” and restaurateurs. The American company wanted to point out that delivery people can choose to work or not, refuse orders without any consequences on access to their account or the races offered and report any risky situation to the platform. The latest official statistics from the regulatory authority reported in 2024 122,000 independent platform workers in France, 51,000 drivers and 71,000 delivery people.