The jobs emergency | Food delivery, e-hail drivers exposed to crime

JOHANNESBURG – Workers using digital platforms are facing harsh conditions, including discrimination and security risks.
This is according to the fifth Fairwork South Africa Ratings 2023 report.
It assesses working conditions for ride-hailing, food delivery, home maintenance and domestic services.
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“We have selected interviews from a few female workers saying there is a potential risk associated with customers behaving inappropriately and that they are exposed to physical and sexual violence,” said Fairwork’s Murali Shanmugavelan.
“Very often they find themselves in a very risky situation and one of the things that we also found out — especially when it comes to female platform workers — they often find themselves not being able to cancel the work at the last minute, especially when they know that particular neighbourhood is actually unsafe.”