Criminal allegations: Bas considers ban on delivery service subcontractors

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The debate surrounding criminal activities, exploitation, forced undeclared work, and violence at delivery services has reached a new political dimension. Federal Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) is considering a direct ban on the practice of subcontracting by companies such as Uber Eats, Wolt, and Lieferando, in light of serious violations of labor law. The SPD politician believes a direct employment mandate is the "only chance to bring more transparency and offer security to the employees themselves." This would immediately enforce employers' obligations to comply with national law.

However, the Ministry of Labor also admits to the rbb that the constitutional and European legal hurdles for this are high. In principle, the use of subcontractors is legitimate. A legal norm mandating direct employment should therefore only be a last resort. The goal must be to combat industry-wide abuses. To achieve this, comprehensive and reliable findings about the problems must first be gathered.

Insights into the complex and often opaque structures of the delivery service industry are provided by an rbb investigation, which has uncovered indications of criminal networks. The report cites a courier as an example who delivered orders via the Wolt app and then waited for months in vain for her wages. Her lawsuit at the Berlin Labor Court against Wolt failed: she could not prove that she was directly employed by the platform operator. In court, Wolt referred to a subcontractor named IMOQX as the employer.

Straw man in use?

However, this company cannot be found at the address registered in the Commercial Register in Luckau. The reporters managed to track down Jarosław T., listed there as managing director, in precarious conditions in a small Polish garden settlement. He stated that he knew nothing about the company managements attributed to him or the responsibility for a hundred Wolt couriers. This fuels suspicion that he was used as a straw man to conceal the actual responsible parties.

According to available contract documents, Wolt had transferred essential responsibility for the hiring and payment of couriers to IMOQX. In a court filing, the service provider stated that it had formed a joint operation with the company, including a management apparatus with Jarosław T. and its own management members.

For labor lawyer Martin Bechert, who represents the courier, this corporate structure is merely a shell to circumvent German labor law. Wolt itself disagrees and assures that the contracts serve to clearly define responsibilities. However, the cooperation with IMOQX was terminated at the beginning of 2023. Wolt remains tight-lipped about the straw man managing director and its own court statements, citing trade secrets and ongoing proceedings.

Rider representation brutally prevented

The problem with subcontractors also appears at Uber Eats: here, the rbb refers to an elaborate system where drivers officially receive a mini-job contract with wage transfers to pass controls. In reality, however, payment is made per order, with drivers receiving the rest of their wages in cash for additional earnings without the deduction of taxes and social security contributions. Commissions and the necessary assumption of costs for the delivery vehicle can lead to an hourly wage falling below the minimum wage of 7 Euros.

According to the report, the criminal structures also become apparent in the reaction to organized protest: when over 700 mainly Indian Uber Eats drivers organized a strike for higher wages in a WhatsApp group in Berlin in January, subcontractors allegedly reacted with threats, including violence. One of the strike leaders was beaten so severely that he had to be hospitalized, prompting the police to launch an investigation. Uber Eats described the events as "unacceptable" when asked and subsequently stopped cooperating with the involved service provider.

The platforms Wolt and Lieferando, which has so far relied on direct employment, are increasingly outsourcing their drivers. Uber Eats relies exclusively on subcontractors in Germany. A direct employment mandate could reverse this trend and change the precarious structures, similar to what happened in the meat industry during the Corona pandemic. The initiative is supported by the Conference of Labor Ministers of the Länder, which has approved a corresponding motion for food delivery services.

What about Uber?

The working conditions at classic ride-hailing services like Uber Black or Bolt are also a long-standing subject of legal and political disputes due to similar business models. The issue of bogus self-employment is at the forefront here. Uber often classifies its drivers as independent contractors, thereby circumventing its obligations as an employer.

However, critics and courts see the chauffeurs as being in a de facto employment relationship due to the instructions and strict guidelines from the app. The EU Platform Work Directive aims to introduce a legal presumption of employment. In Germany, Uber primarily works with licensed taxi companies and classic taxi drivers due to the requirements of the Passenger Transport Act.

(wpl)