Platform delivery workers gathered on Place Poelaert at 08:45 on Friday morning to mark the start of the legal action against Uber Eats with the Brussels Court of First Instance.
Some 16 people formerly working for Uber Eats had initiated the action after being disconnected from the platform and prevented from continuing their deliveries. The company took the action without explanation or prior warning.
They were prevented from continuing their work because of a "failure to comply with the general terms and conditions" but were not given any further explanation, they said. The complaint is supported by the ACV/CSC union, the Egaliberté foundation, the Centre d'information à l'éducation populaire (CIEP-B) and the Human Rights League.
At the end of November, Uber Eats stated that a courier's access to the platform is "always subject to a rigorous human review," but the delivery drivers point out that it is impossible to enquire or communicate about these decisions.
Arbitrary disconnection
"If they react, the workers receive an email confirming the decision that has already been taken, as a ‘human review’. The NGOs and trade unions deplore the fact that they are never given the opportunity to speak to someone, to find out exactly what they are accused of, or to give their version of the facts," the unions said.
"With this legal action, we hope to make Uber Eats apply the law and allow these delivery drivers to start working again," said Camille Peeters, a member of CIEP-B and the 'Maison des livreurs' organisation. Over the past two years, "several hundred" delivery drivers have already come to them to complain about cases of "arbitrary disconnection."
According to the NGOs and trade unions supporting this appeal, these "hyper-surveillance" situations are truly "Kafkaesque."
An Uber Eats courier in Brussels, Friday 13 March 2020. Credit: Belga/Dirk Waem
"Sometimes a dead battery at the wrong time is enough for the system to suspect fraud and eliminate the worker for good," they said. For the applicants, it's time for this to stop. "Whatever their status, they are workers and have rights, starting with the right to respect."
In particular, they are asking Uber Eats to disclose all their personal data processed by the company, so they can understand the analysis carried out. They also demand to be informed "clearly and completely" about profiling and automated decisions, and to cancel disconnection decisions taken "without sufficient human intervention."
Peeters also reminded delivery platform operators "not to give up in the event of disconnection. We can help you, and this court case is proof of that."
