France: Deliveroo introduces free healthcare for bike riders injured on the job
The Local France - [email protected]
Published: 7 Sep, 2017 CET.
Updated: Thu 7 Sep 2017 15:45 CET
Deliveroo riders in France are being offered free healthcare if injured while on the job delivering meals.
The company's 7,500 cyclists whose signature turquoise bags are an increasingly common sight in French cities, now have access to free healthcare if they are injured in the process of carrying out a delivery, the company has said.
The news comes just weeks after more than a hundred Deliveroo cyclists gathered in Paris, Bordeaux, Nantes and Lyon to protest changes to their pay.
The measure, effective since September 1st, was negotiated with French insurance giant Axa France and covers the cyclists "from their very first delivery", the company said.
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Deliveroo, which launched in France two years ago, also said the move had nothing to do with the recent protests and that they had been working with Axa for a year to introduce the new measure.
Deliveroo cyclists generally have "auto-entrepreuner" status, meaning that they don't have contracts and are unlikely to have any kind of coverage in case of an accident.
"We are the first company to change the deal," said Hugues Décosse, director of Deliveroo France.
The measure aims to bring the cyclists some "serenity" and is a "logical way to generate their loyalty for us", Décosse added.
In March this year, France's hardline CGT trade union said it had created a new union in the western city of Bordeaux which would seek to represent around 700 bikers working locally for meal delivery platforms such as Deliveroo, Foodora and UberEats.
A political debate is ongoing in France about the quality of new jobs being created by companies such as Uber, whose drivers are mostly self-employed contractors with no job security.
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The company's 7,500 cyclists whose signature turquoise bags are an increasingly common sight in French cities, now have access to free healthcare if they are injured in the process of carrying out a delivery, the company has said.
The news comes just weeks after more than a hundred Deliveroo cyclists gathered in Paris, Bordeaux, Nantes and Lyon to protest changes to their pay.
The measure, effective since September 1st, was negotiated with French insurance giant Axa France and covers the cyclists "from their very first delivery", the company said.
READ ALSO:
- France's delivery bike riders take to the streets to protest salary changes
- France's delivery bike riders now have their own union
AFP
Deliveroo, which launched in France two years ago, also said the move had nothing to do with the recent protests and that they had been working with Axa for a year to introduce the new measure.
Deliveroo cyclists generally have "auto-entrepreuner" status, meaning that they don't have contracts and are unlikely to have any kind of coverage in case of an accident.
"We are the first company to change the deal," said Hugues Décosse, director of Deliveroo France.
The measure aims to bring the cyclists some "serenity" and is a "logical way to generate their loyalty for us", Décosse added.
In March this year, France's hardline CGT trade union said it had created a new union in the western city of Bordeaux which would seek to represent around 700 bikers working locally for meal delivery platforms such as Deliveroo, Foodora and UberEats.
A political debate is ongoing in France about the quality of new jobs being created by companies such as Uber, whose drivers are mostly self-employed contractors with no job security.
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