Wednesday's delivery app work stoppage lasted more than seven hours. The protest is national and asks for fairer fees from applications and help with necessary protection items during the coronavirus pandemic.
With the union movement's support in São Paulo, the demonstrations concentrated in three parts of the city, moving hundreds of moto boys and cyclists between 9 am and 4:30 pm. They promise a new stoppage by the 12th to win the claims.
Around 10 am, about 500 moto boys had gathered at SindimotoSP, the union of motorcycle messengers, cyclists, and moto-taxi drivers in the state. Along with bags from brands like iFood, Uber Eats, and Rappi, workers carried flags of UGT and the Trade Union Syndicate. In parallel, another group concentrated on Avenida Paulista in front of the São Paulo Art Museum.
In addition to the increase in delivery rates on apps like iFood, Uber Eats, and Rappi, union members defend the approval of the PL 578, of 2019, which regulates a federal law and requires companies to pay 30% of additional "disaster pay" to motorcycle couriers.
Drivers, who organize themselves in dozens of WhatsApp groups in which Folha participates, report that there is no recomposition of gel alcohol and that Rappi's individual score is hampering gains and that some platforms even prevent them from working.
Called BrequedosApps, the work stoppage also happened in other capitals, such as Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Salvador, and Recife.
Amobitec (Brazilian Association of Mobility and Technology), which brings together companies such as Uber, 99, and iFood, said in a note that its associates do not work with a scoring scheme for order distribution.
Uber Eats pointed out that "there was no decrease in the amounts paid" and that couriers diagnosed with Covid-19 receive financial assistance for up to 14 days. He also said that all earnings from couriers are made available in a transparent way in the application.
iFood said that delivery personnel is deactivated only when there is evidence of lost orders, payment fraud, or account assignment to third parties, for example.
Rappi reported that its scoring program was created "so that delivery partners with a higher number of points can have a preference for receiving orders, creating more opportunities for them and a better experience for our customers".
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon