Will anyone be able to get food through an on-demand delivery app anytime soon?
Deliveroo drivers are already upset about changes to the company’s pricing model in London that they say short changes drivers and have been protesting the changes. Now, drivers for UberEATS, which launched in the U.K. in June, are planning a similar protest outside Uber’s London headquarters.
UberEATS drivers are claiming that changes in the company’s pay structure could leave drivers making less than the minimum wage, according to a report from The Guardian.
UberEATS drivers now make £3.30 per delivery, plus a mileage traveled payment, while Uber takes a 25 percent cut out of the total. The company also paid drivers a £5 bonus for deliveries, too, but lowered that payout last week to a bonus of £3 or £4, contingent on the time of day and whether the delivery occurred during a busy time period or not.
Uber said the initial bonuses to drivers were offered as a “very generous” incentive intended to recruit drivers while the service was still establishing itself and growing its customer base, but now that the business is steady, the incentive needs to come down.
“We’re committed to being the best option for couriers in London. Unlike other companies, we don’t set shifts, minimum hours or delivery zones. Couriers can simply log in or out when and where they choose,” Alex Czarnecki, general manager of UberEATS, told The Guardian. “This is why we’ve seen hundreds of new couriers sign up in the last week alone. As UberEATS grows, couriers are busier than ever. In fact, so far this week, couriers delivering lunch and dinner have made over 10 percent more an hour than they did in the same period last week.”
But UberEATS drivers told The Guardian a different story. After earning as much as £20 an hour during peak meal times when the service launched in June, drivers have seen a steady reduction in earnings that now puts them at less than £10.
The London living wage is £9.40 an hour, as set by the country’s Living Wage Foundation.