In France, the platforms Deliveroo and Uber Eats are the subject of a complaint for "human trafficking," filed Wednesday, April 22, with the Paris prosecutor's office by four delivery workers' associations. This unprecedented action denounces working conditions deemed inhumane and extreme job insecurity.

The complaint against Deliveroo and Uber Eats was filed by the Bordeaux Delivery Workers' House, the Paris Courier's House, and the associations AMAL and Ciel. They accuse the platforms of exploiting the situation of highly vulnerable workers, the vast majority of whom are immigrants.

According to available data, the situation is particularly difficult: delivery drivers work an average of 63 hours per week for a net monthly income of around €1,000, or €1,480 gross, which is about €300 less than the minimum wage. A report by Doctors of the World published at the end of March also mentions a strong dependence on the platforms' algorithms.

Working conditions denounced

The associations are relying on testimonies gathered throughout France and on data from investigations conducted over the past two years. More than 200 delivery drivers have been interviewed as part of the complaint.

According to these organizations, the system imposed on delivery drivers is opaque, forcing them to accept "any working conditions" while being considered "completely independent." Of the thousand delivery drivers surveyed, 98% were reportedly born abroad and 64% did not have residency permits.

Circé Liénart, coordinator of the Maison des coursiers de Paris, highlights the effects of this situation: "We see that this has consequences on the health and lives of workers," she explains, adding that these conditions can lead to extreme precarity and sometimes serious accidents.

Resorting to the courts as a last resort.

The associations' lawyer, Thibault Laforcade, asserts that legal action was chosen after other approaches failed. "Several channels were used: political, journalistic, scientific. They don't work," he argues, denouncing "a form of acceptance of the economic system" and its consequences.

“So we decided to activate another avenue, perhaps the last, that of justice,” he continued, hoping to “stop a trend that has been inexorable for several years.” He explained that the associations had gathered documents on the living conditions, health, and pay of the delivery drivers in order to “document the case as thoroughly as possible” and call for an investigation.

With this complaint, the associations also hope to create a legal framework, which they say currently does not exist, and to encourage similar initiatives abroad. For their part, the platforms firmly contest the accusations. Uber Eats asserts that this "complaint [...] is completely unfounded," while Deliveroo says it "vigorously contests the intentions attributed to it" and "firmly rejects any comparison of its model to a situation of exploitation or human trafficking."