Uber Eats couriers protest for better working conditions and fair pay

Uber Eats delivery drivers staged a protest on Tuesday decrying poor working conditions and low wages.

The action comes at the initiative of the House of Delivery Workers, a place where meal couriers from platforms such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo in Brussels can come together.

Couriers for such platforms are considered independent contractors, meaning they are not entitled to the same social and labour rights as traditional employees.

Normally to be considered an independent contractor, a person must set their own hours and wages and generally be in control of the terms of their employment.

But the protestors say that workers for gig platforms such as Uber Eats, Uber and Lyft are subject to the terms of the third-party app they use and have no control over their wages, which often end up below the legal minimum.

The Uber Eats couriers who protested on Tuesday are calling for better working conditions, fair pay and labour insurance.

A third demand is for the platform to stop arbitrarily disconnecting delivery drivers and drivers (in the case of rideshare apps like Uber or Lyft) from the platform, making them unable to work without immediate recourse.

Finally, the couriers also want more transparency from Uber. According to them, too many agreements are made between unions and Uber, which do not involve the workers.