Delivered. It all starts with a promise. That of a job that would offer independence and flexibility, which would allow you to have control of your schedule as much as your level of remuneration, far from the world of the wage earner and the figures of the boss and the manager. Far from these images conveyed by digital platforms, the reality of delivery men, drivers or cleaning ladies working for them appears quite different.
We measure it by reading the collective work Uberization, and after? (Editions du Détour), which reveals their daily life with harsh light. Coordinated by Communist Senator Pascal Savoldelli, the essay brings together specialists in the subject (sociologists, actors in the field, elected officials, etc.) to analyze the rise of Uber and other Deliveroo.
An observation is quickly made by the sociologist Dominique Méda: “The discourse that self-entrepreneurship [statut exigé par les plates-formes pour travailler avec elles] would constitute a haven of freedom is a myth, an illusion. » As the pages go by, working conditions that undermine workers are emerging. “My whole life was organized around [l’] application [qui me permettait de travailler] »deplores a delivery man, emphasizing the dependence it caused.
For a more protective status
The permanent monitoring and rating system is denounced, but also the “algorithmic management” and his “opacity”. Thanks to the multiple data accumulated (performance of the delivery person, involvement, etc.), the algorithm determines who has access to the most profitable delivery slots, to whom more orders will be allocated, or even who will be excluded from the system. “The organization of platform work leads (…) to premature mental and physical wear and tear on the deliverers”, observe sociologists Stéphane Le Lay and Fabien Lemozy. The authors of the essay also highlight the major shortcomings that the status of microentrepreneur implies in terms of social protection.
Are actions possible to develop such a system? The authors want to believe it. And they see in actions already undertaken the proof that a questioning is possible. At local and international level, alternatives to platforms are thus emerging, particularly in the form of cooperatives, such as the Coursiers bordelais. Collectives and unions are also emerging to defend platform workers.
Among the battles to be waged, the evolution towards a more protective status than the micro-enterprise appears to be a central issue. The authors therefore observe recent legal developments with interest. “From now on, throughout Europe, court decisions reclassifying workers as employees are multiplying”assures Barbara Gomes, lecturer in private law at the University of Avignon.
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