Mike Kemp via Getty Images
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MISCELLANEOUS – The fatal accident occurred in the Lille-Fives district. This Tuesday, January 11, a 16-year-old died following a serious accident with a semi-trailer truck rue de Saint-Amand in Lille, reports The voice of the North this Tuesday, January 11.
This young man, on a bicycle and with a Deliveroo bag, died crushed by the truck. For the time being, the circumstances of this tragedy are being studied by the police, in order to determine who is responsible.
The driver of the semi-trailer was heard by the investigators. According to the first information of The voice of the North, the accident occurred when he was in a line of stationary cars. And it was when restarting at low speed that he would have crushed the bike, without seeing it. The local newspaper specifies that the driver of the truck had not consumed alcohol.
An accident which occurs in a context of multiplications of this type of fatal drama with delivery people for delivery platforms. The Parisian cites for example a precedent in Strasbourg last September resulting in the death of a delivery man on a bicycle or in Montpellier in December where another underage delivery man was killed in an accident, on a scooter this time.
The drama has also aroused strong reactions on social networks, shared between anger and sadness. Julien Poix, regional councilor in Hauts-de-France, or Thomas Portes, ex-spokesperson for Sandrine Rousseau, were indignant.
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Terrible. In Lille, a young Deliveroo delivery man on a bicycle was run over by a truck. He died instantly. The extreme precariousness deliberately created by capitalism to exploit labor is a killing machine. It’s time to end it.
— Thomas Doors (@Doors_Thomas) January 13, 2022
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Work accident – @Elisabeth_Borne – 10 deaths recorded in 2022
▪️ Lille (59): A young Deliveroo delivery man on a bike was run over by a truck. He died instantly. More information to come.https://t.co/uPweUF8fzy
— Accident at work: silence of the workers die (@DuAccident) January 11, 2022
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A young miner was crushed to death #Fives. The terrible drama reveals the life of home delivery convicts. #deliveroo will have to explain: and has a minor been able to register on this platform? The exploitation of minors and undocumented migrants is the reality of this world https://t.co/8NDNadqx5Y
— Julien Poix (@JulienPoix) January 13, 2022
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A minor hired by Deliveroo?
In addition to the many questions about the circumstances of this tragedy, the age of the victim questions. Was this miner working for the delivery sign or not? Did this Deliveroo bag really belong to him?
Asked by 20 Minutes, Damien Stéffan, a spokesperson for Deliveroo, assured that the company “does not authorize the work of minors” and adds that “as soon as we heard the news, we this morning got in touch with the investigators for us make available to them and offer our help”.
It could therefore be a “ghost delivery man” hired by an official account that sublet his profile. A known practice that allows a person registered as a freelancer to delegate the delivery of orders to others. This young minor could therefore be one of his service providers.
But Deliveroo specifies to the news site that “they must be of legal age and be able to work legally in France” in order to be able to practice for the platform. There remains the trail of an undeclared loan, and therefore of concealed and illegal work, which has already cost Deliveroo dearly.
“It’s very common. The account holder takes a commission of 30% or more on the amount of the races and pays the rest to the ghost delivery person”, details to 20 Minutes Edouard Bernasse, secretary general of the Collective of autonomous platform deliverers.
He concludes by stating that this method is used by “a lot of miners”; minors, generally without papers and in a highly precarious situation.
See also on The HuffPost: Delivery men revolt against contempt and violence
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