Against illegal work, delivery platforms offer a "charter of commitment"

The fight against illegal work on home meal delivery platforms will intensify.

This Tuesday morning, the Ministers of Labor and Transport received several actors of the sector - Frichti, Deliveroo, Stuart and Uber Eats -, in order to take stock of the mechanisms in place against the "

irregular subletting of accounts

" and discuss the tools to be strengthened to limit abuse.

Read alsoClandestins bicycle delivery men: how to deal with the drift?

Tuesday's meeting was an opportunity to draw up an "

inventory of what exists, of the measures already in place

", explains to

Figaro

the general manager of Uber Eats in France, Bastien Pahus. All the platforms are "

determined to go further

", welcomes the representative, who specifies that the executive did not bang his fist on the table, but wanted to strengthen cooperation between the platforms. Same positive observation at Deliveroo: a spokesperson for the company welcomes a "

constructive exchange, making it possible to present all the additional means that we propose to implement to fight against this phenomenon

".

In a press release Tuesday evening, rue de Grenelle specifies that "

several actions

" have been proposed by companies to ministers. First, the implementation by the platforms themselves of "

more efficient mechanisms, allowing better detection of anomalies and frauds

". This could, for example, be checks on the couriers' bank details or facial recognition systems in order to verify the identity of the delivery person. Then, "

strengthening collaboration with State services

", whether it be the police force or the Directorate General of Labor. Finally, the creation of a “

platform engagement charter

”, widely signed, and which should make it possible to “

create a virtuous dynamic in the sector, integrating common actions to fight against fraud

”.

"

The action plan presented by the various platforms concerned is a first step which must be followed by rapid and concrete effects to offer better working conditions to delivery people and put an end to the unacceptable practices which have been observed in the sector

", commented the Minister of Labor, Élisabeth Borne, quoted in the press release.

His colleague in charge of Transport, for his part, considered that "

the development of this model requires the full exercise of the responsibility of the platforms vis-à-vis deliverers

".

A long-known problem

A first meeting took place last July. The government was looking into "

the illegal exercise of the profession

" of delivery man, and asked the actors to come back with leads to "

correct these practices.

". This problem has been known for many years: the players in the home meal delivery sector are regularly singled out by users, the authorities and the delivery people themselves, who accuse them of putting insufficient resources into the fight against fraud and forms of illegal work. A minor can for example falsify documents to make deliveries despite his young age, or a foreigner who cannot work in France can sublet an account, in return for payment to the owner of the account. Some media cases, such as that of Frichti delivery men, revealed by

Liberation

, have recently focused on these precarious situations.

Over the years, as controls intensified, techniques have also diversified: illegal subletting of accounts, in particular by undocumented foreigners who are not allowed to work in France, sale of accounts on networks social, handling of documents to validate an account ... The giants of the sector are facing fraudsters ready to use great means.

The evil is known, but its extent is less so. Difficult to pinpoint the number of fraudsters, as they seek to stay under the radar. However, the platforms recognize it bluntly: "

it is a real phenomenon

". Uber Eats thus detects, each month, between 300 and 500 accounts presenting an "

anomaly

", and which must be deleted. The couriers see it in the field: “

two years ago,

remembers a unionized delivery man from the southwest of France

, the fleet of these platforms was rather white, people who had the choice, students, people. doing this out of a passion for cycling. Today, it is rather a population of workers of immigrant origin,who works paperless and sublets accounts

".

Selfie, joint charter, document verification ...

The platforms are already taking action to fight illegal work, they say. Deliveroo intends "to

move forward in cooperation with the public authorities on the issue of illegal subcontracting

". Uber Eats has already implemented several anti-fraud processes, such as a selfie required from delivery people, "

at least once a week

", at random, since the end of 2019. If the person taking their picture is not the same than the one who created the account, "

it is temporarily deactivated

". The giant also checks the documents sent by deliverers at the time of their registration, including their SIRET number and identity card. From now on, the group will also use a technological tool to analyze these documents, "

identify the similarities between documents sent by different couriers

”, for example, or identify items“

not recognizable to the naked eye

”, making it possible to distinguish falsified items.

During the meeting, Uber Eats wanted "

everyone to play the game

", sharing the same levels of requirement. The group supported the principle of a “

common charter

” standardizing practices. A simplification that would also help its deliverers, who work for two thirds for several platforms whose rules diverge today. The American giant has also called for each platform to carry out an “

audit of all its accounts

”, in order to reassess them through the prism of new, more restrictive rules. “

For Uber Eats alone, that's about 50,000 accounts to review

", Notes the manager, a job that the company could start by the end of the year, and continue during the first half of 2022.

If the exchanges between the participants were constructive, this work is however far from being finished.

"

We are at the beginning of the process

", tempers Bastien Pahus.

"

We have agreed to meet again on a regular basis,

" said a representative of Deliveroo.

“

Follow-up and review meetings for the actions taken

” have already been promised by the ministries concerned, so that these commitments are effectively implemented.