Paris (AFP)

Minimum remuneration, night bonus: the advances obtained by the deliverers of Uber Eats in Saint-Etienne could spread to other cities, hope workers representatives, according to whom the platform wants to avoid this "snowball effect".

Two days of strong mobilization, on December 13 and 18, were enough for the delivery men from Saint-Etienne to obtain concessions from Uber Eats: minimum remuneration, at certain times and under conditions, and the return of a "rain bonus ", up to one euro per order.

These advances allowed the platform to spend Christmas without disruption in the Loire prefecture, while 180 delivery people, or 90% of the Saint-Etienne workforce working for the Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Stuart platforms, mobilized on December 13 and 18. , assures Pierre, one of the movement's spokespersons.

But, barely announced, these concessions are already threatened.

These are "temporary measures linked to the end-of-year celebrations and the specific conditions of activity in the city," a spokesperson for Uber Eats told AFP.

A position which does not surprise the delivery men.

"We have not signed anything, so they can reverse their decision in a snap," concedes Pierre, before warning: "Anger is mounting, the delivery men are already ready to go on strike again".

Negotiations are scheduled with Uber Eats in early January.

- "Oil stain" -

Although fragile, the success of this mobilization could inspire delivery people from other cities.

Similar movements have recently taken place, without success, in Lyon, Strasbourg, Nantes and Angers.

"The Saint-Etienne movement shows that it is possible to obtain something thanks to the balance of power", retains Ludovic Rioux, of the CGT Uber Eats / Deliveroo section in Lyon, where the mobilization was not strong enough to bend the American giant.

"This is the first time that Uber Eats has agreed to discuss with delivery people following a mobilization", underlines for his part Jérôme Pimot, spokesperson for the Collective of autonomous deliverers in Paris (Clap), which follows closely movements of delivery people outside Paris.

However, according to Pierre, Uber Eats was precisely "afraid of the snowball effect".

Or, as Jérôme Pimot puts it, of the possibility "that this method (of mobilization) becomes oil" and spreads in other cities where the platform is active.

Both display common demands: minimum hourly pay but also a minimum price per race, stopping the rating system in place at Uber Eats, unlike its competitor Deliveroo, and stopping account suspensions without explanations.

However, by having recourse, like its competitors, to independent deliverers, Uber Eats is under no obligation to extend the concessions made to workers from Saint-Etienne to other cities.

The platform also recognizes that it can "decide on initiatives that take into account specific contexts at the level of a city".

- "New International" -

Ludovic Rioux recalls that this minimum remuneration "existed before", when these platforms appeared in France.

“It's very complicated to trust a platform that has reduced remuneration since its launch,” he blurted out bitterly.

Rather than national concessions from Uber Eats, delivery people actually rely more on government.

The Minister of Labor, Élisabeth Borne, ordered a draft ordinance on social dialogue in the sector from Bruno Mettling, former HR Director of Orange, Pauline Trequesser, freelance worker and leader of a group of independent workers, and Mathias Dufour , president of a think tank (#leplusimportant).

To make himself heard by these three personalities and the various platforms of the sector, Jérôme Pimot dreams of a "coalition of autonomous collectives" throughout France, even with delivery men from other countries, where "the grievances are always the same" .

"In four or five years, uberization has almost succeeded in creating a new International," he smiles.

An International that could find its lifeline in an ordinance.

© 2021 AFP