Alejandro García assures that he has put his life at risk by driving faster… delivering food for the last two years to try to arrive during the period of time that the delivery application requires.
“Because the application, if we don’t arrive on time, delays the ‘delivery’. Apart from that, if we arrive 15 minutes late or 20 minutes late, the order is late and the three applications block the account, ”explained the food delivery man.
If that happens, it would prevent Alejandro from earning a living for his family. But if he had to deliver orders for apps like ‘Gorillas’ or ‘Getir’ the situation would be even worse because he would only have 15 minutes to take the orders.
Organizations in favor of food delivery say that asking a worker to pick up and deliver the order in such a short time is inhumane.
“The constant pressure that has caused many of the workers to end up in accidents or fatalities. It is humanly impossible for them to get from side A to side B in 15 minutes. When one cannot do that even by getting on the train”, said Hildalyn Colón, representative of “Deliveristas Unidos”.
That is why Councilman Christopher Marte is working on a legislative proposal to prevent these companies from requiring that delivery men have to reach their destinations in just a quarter of an hour.
As well as that they put a limit on how much weight they can carry in the backpacks, which also harms their health.
“To see how we could protect the deliverers… they put a lot of pressure on that person to deliver the packages in 15 minutes and sometimes those packages are 30 or 40 pounds,” Marte said.
Also, when drivers don’t arrive on time it affects their profits…sometimes they don’t get a tip.
“The client often does not know when it comes to food that the restaurant may be late. That there may be a situation on the road, that the deliverers are making two and three deliveries, “added Colón.
This legislative proposal, which is in the early stages, continues the dialogue for better working conditions for delivery people and has the support of other councilors.
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