Deliveroo and Uber Eats, two food delivery platforms, are being urged to be more transparent about the apps that they use to manage their couriers’ working processes and pay.
Twelve organizations from the EU and UK including Amnesty International and the TUC have sent an open letter urging the takeaway giants to be transparent about the decisions they make using their “black box” algorithms, which, according to the signatories, are “seemingly difficult to challenge”.
Privacy International said that algorithms are now the norm in the gig economy, and workers have to hand over a lot of data to get to work.
The company says that the algorithmic decisions can determine whether gig workers receive a pay raise or if their accounts or employment are terminated or suspended. It also claims that workers do not get satisfactory explanations of how these decisions are taken.
In the letter, it is stated that each of the three companies are market leaders. Each of you claims to be concerned, promising that you “believe in doing business responsibly” and that you’ll have a positive effect, or that you’ll ‘put voice of rider at heart of everything”, or that you’ll ‘treat our customers, colleagues, and cities with respect’.
“But your business practices have not yet borne this out. They have resulted in millions of Euros in fines, for blocking drivers from enforcing their rights and for systemically inefficient data processing.
“Instead, your automated exploitation is based on black-box algorithms that make decisions without adequate explanation about deactivation, job allocation, and pay, robbing workers of their ability to understand, and even challenge, these decisions.
The 12 organisations have proposed a three-point strategy for Deliveroo Takeaway, Just Eat Takeaway, and Uber Eats:
- Keep a public record of the algorithms that are used to manage employees.
- All algorithmic decisions should be accompanied by an explanation of their most important reasons and how to challenge them.
- Test the algorithms with workers, their representatives, and groups of public interest.
Three food delivery platforms have been urged to take action now, before the law forces them into it. All three laws, the EU’s Platform Workers’ Directive and AI Act and Spain’s Rider Law are taking steps to protect workers’ rights. Why wait until you are pushed when you can start treating your employees right now? Why wait until the fines or enforcement, which are on their way, when you can take positive steps now? This is the question ‘s open letter asks.
The letter was also signed by Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain and App Drivers and couriers Union (ADCU).
Deliveroo’s spokesperson said that all riders receive information about how the algorithms work, what orders are available and how fees are calculated. They also receive an information package during onboarding. All riders can also contact a dedicated Rider Support Team for questions about these topics. These are then escalated to the Data Protection Officer if necessary. Our team will always review the termination of a rider account if there is suspicious activity. This is to ensure that we have human oversight and not an automatic process.
We take our legal responsibilities regarding transparency and data privacy very seriously and consider this a key part of treating riders in dignity and with respect. We know that effective communication and systems supporting Deliveroo’s business operations are important elements of our relationship with customers.
Just Eat Takeaway, Uber and other companies were also contacted for comments.
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