From a correspondent in Moscow
On April 24 around 50 couriers of the biggest delivery companies Delivery Club and Yandex.eda gathered in the square at the metro station Perovo in order to publicise their protest against the changes to their system of payment.
The earnings of the green-jacketed couriers at Delivery Club fell by 90 rubles per order, even though previously they were only 190 rubles. As a result, for 12 hours of work, a courier is set to receive not 3000 rubles as before, but on average less than 2000. At the same time, they have to travel up to 10km further per day. Now it is almost impossible to earn a living wage.
Car delivery orders are being cut back. And this is happening at the same time that the number of orders is growing, their price is increasing, and the recruitment of new couriers is continuing! The immediate demand of the workers is to return the old system of payment.
The yellow-jacketed couriers of Yandex.eda are outraged at the fall in the number of orders. In a week, it is now possible to take only one arranged slot with a guaranteed wage of 150 rubles an hour. Car delivery workers are being transferred to the division of bike delivery workers. But overall there were fewer Yandex workers at today’s meeting.
“Without us they are nobody, but without them, we’ll get by”
The couriers are fighting like tigers. They are acting in an organised and disciplined manner. For the second day running, they are not taking orders and are losing income, but standing firmly for their core demand. Cohesion among them is built around personal acquaintances and local cooperation.
At the meeting, people communicated among themselves and boldly gave interviews to journalists, explaining their needs, especially the problem of the rise in prices. Bread, which is a key staple in the diet of people from Central Asia, is becoming more expensive. Food in fast-food outlets is also becoming costly.
“We are working like slaves”, one of the activists declared, “but our pay only pays for food and clothes!” He talked about the only solution to the situation: “We need to unite. Without us the company won’t have any profits. Without us they are nobody, but without them we’ll get by!”
Another problem for the couriers which they spoke about in person, but did not mention in their demands, is the conduct of the police, who constantly stop couriers who are migrants, in order to check their documents and extract bribes from them, using the lack of legal protections for migrants. A further problem is the lack of respect from some local people and restaurant workers.
At the meeting, Artur Orlov a member of the RWP, spoke from the delegation of couriers from Novogireevo. The Revolutionary Workers Party, a small but growing socialist group in Russia, has expressed support for the demands of the workers and will further support their struggle!
Update: On the evening of Monday April 25 the police broke into the flat of Kirill Ukraintsev, the leader of “Courier,” the couriers’ trade union. This happened even though the trade union itself was not involved in this particular dispute.
