Mexico: Female delivery drivers demand more protection

DW (English)

In Mexico City, female delivery drivers often face dangerous situations. But declining jobs in high-risk areas can still cause a bad app rating. They’re demanding greater consideration and safety from the platforms.

Transcript

00:00Working as a female delivery driver in Mexico City is tough.

00:05Initially, jobs like this were appealing for women.

00:08The apps gave them flexibility to combine delivering food with taking care of their family.

00:14But now, to maintain a good rating on the platform,

00:17they are required to work continuous hours when demand is high.

00:21Most delivery workers like Shaira avoid going out at night.

00:25They also experience sexual harassment from customers.

00:30If a man greets you naked or in his underwear, clearly aroused, it's really uncomfortable.

00:40It also happens that people order alcohol and you end up at a house that's filled with men,

00:47urging you to come in and join them.

00:50We get scared that they'll pull us inside.

00:53In Mexico City, apps like Uber have a panic button drivers can push when in danger.

01:03Shaira explains that the current panic button is useless.

01:07She says a delivery woman was once killed in Mexico City and Uber refused to name the attacker.

01:19For years, female delivery drivers asked platforms to mark risk zones

01:23so they can stop delivering orders there without risking their ratings.

01:33Because women move slower.

01:35Men arrive faster than you.

01:37They can accept more orders.

01:39I can reject a delivery to a hot zone and a man will deliver it.

01:43Obviously, that lowers my rating.

01:49To achieve these changes, Shaira joined the National Union of App Workers.

01:53She is their secretary for gender.

01:55Every week, Shaira meets with her colleagues at a safe restaurant known as an Orange Point.

02:01The Orange Point is there in case we need to take cover from danger, get a drink of water, go to the bathroom.

02:09Here we gather female delivery workers and women from the union.

02:13The union has succeeded in pushing through legal reform, designating delivery drivers as workers.

02:21This means they will have social security, access to pensions and housing assistance.

02:25But many improvements are still needed, the drivers say, especially for the protection of women.

02:36One thing platforms can do is give us greater security with clients, ensuring they're real,

02:41because sometimes there are clients with fake profiles.

02:47The new law in Mexico requires apps to establish a protocol against gender-based violence.

02:52Shaira is sceptical that strong measures are really being taken.

02:56Platforms have reacted negatively to the reform.

02:59For example, in spring, rates dropped, making it difficult to earn the base salary.

03:04No base salary means no workers' rights.

03:07The platforms are good at finding ways to avoid making real concessions.

03:13We shouldn't divide our salaries into fares and tips separately.

03:17The platform wants us to only count the fare charged by Uber for our salary.

03:24This will make it harder for us to reach the monthly minimum wage and therefore receive the legal benefits.

03:29Rights and security for delivery workers in Mexico still have a long way to go, especially for women.

03:38Despite reforms, platforms find ways to avoid real change, leaving many female drivers vulnerable.

03:44Choosing male drivers vulnerable

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