Leaked McDonalds/Uber recording exposes discrimination, bullying and exploitation of their delivery workers in Northern Ireland
Recording of McDonalds management meeting with Uber Eats drivers reveals discrimination, summary dismissals and below minimum wage pay
Managers pressure Uber Eats drivers to prioritise McDonalds deliveries over their competitors
McDonalds treatment of workers is in breach of their merchant contract with Uber
WIE calls for suspension of Uber Eats deliveries at McDonalds in all of Ireland until safeguards are in place
WIE calls on Stormont government to close legal loopholes which continue to expose vulnerable gig workers to exploitation by rogue employers
A new Worker Info Exchange (WIE) report has exposed dysfunctional work practices at McDonalds in Antrim and Ballymena which amount to discrimination, bullying and exploitation of drivers contracted by Uber Eats to carry out deliveries locally for the restaurant chain.
The report, McMisery : the Uber/McDonalds files. Algorithmic exploitation delivered in Northern Ireland, is published today.
The recording featured in the report, contains evidence of serious management abuses including:
McDonalds managers tell Uber Eats drivers they must learn English in their own time. They say that the English languages sounds ‘softer’ whereas the Romanian language sounds ‘harsh’ and ‘abrupt’ and they do not want to have their own employed staff complaining about this. Drivers are provided with links to Google Translate.
McDonalds managers threaten summary dismissals and boast of having done so in the case of one driver because they were ‘cheeky’ and another for ‘not being a team’ player.
McDonalds managers pressure drivers prioritise McDonalds orders over competitor restaurants even though they have no discretion from Uber to do so.
McDonalds managers tell drivers that they must only use one phone but drivers must work across multiple apps simultaneously including Uber, Just Eat and Deliveroo to eek out a living which necessitates the use of multiple devices. Managers say they will demand access to inspect driver phones, a clear violation of data privacy.
McDonalds managers have placed fake orders to monitor which drivers are responding to McDonalds dispatch orders which is a violation of Uber’s community guidelines.
Drivers complain to McDonalds management to no avail about low Uber pay for McDelivery work
On October 14th this year, McDonalds management in Ballymena launched a private Facebook group for ‘McDonalds Ballymena Delivery Partners’. Two days later, McDonalds management posted a recording of a March 2023 meeting between their regional management and the Uber Eats drivers at the Antrim restaurant. The post was marked ‘for your reference’ and a separate post was made with an undated code of conduct which ‘all drivers must observe’.
On the back of this and report and the leaked recording, WIE is calling for the following:
In line with Uber’s merchant terms, conditions and community guidelines, Uber and McDonalds must suspend joint delivery operations on the island of Ireland until trade union representatives can be assured that appropriate safeguards are in place to prevent any further discrimination, bullying and exploitation of the Uber Eats delivery workforce at McDonalds.
WIE calls on Conor Murphy MLA, Minister for the Economy NI to urgently meet with the Uber Eats delivery workers at McDonalds to hear their grievances, to review their work situation, and to commit to introducing legislation to close all legal loopholes which currently enable rogue employers to exploit gig workers in the North of Ireland.
An anonymous Ballymena Uber Eats/McDelivery worker said:
“The Ballymena delivery workforce has reached breaking point with McDonalds and Uber. Pay has been cut continuously over the last twelve months as Uber rolled out dynamic pay and work allocation systems. As a result, Uber and McDonalds have never been more profitable while we work longer hours for less money. Local McDonalds management is becoming more aggressive, safe in the knowledge that Uber will do their bidding and robo-fire anyone who complains.”
James Farrar, Director of Worker Info Exchange said:
“Once again a rock has been lifted to expose the foul working conditions endured by gig workers in the North of Ireland. McDonalds are micro-managing their delivery workers in Antrim and Ballymena as if they were direct employees but then hide behind the Uber platform to avoid their responsibility as employer. For years Uber has specialised in exploiting workers, now they are selling access to their platform to help other large multinationals do the same.
Neil Moore, Unite the Union Regional Officer said:
“Unite is increasingly concerned by the exploitative employment model used by fast food delivery companies. All too often the interests of low-paid and short-staffed workers are being played off against those of couriers. We want to raise the bar for all fast food workers. Regulations protecting workers need to be strengthened and properly enforced. The best way workers in this sector can improve pay and conditions is join a union and get organised together with couriers and app drivers."
Zamir Dreni, App Drivers & Couriers Unions said:
“The ADCU has been aware that the major gig economy platforms and their commercial partners have been particularly aggressive with vulnerable workers in Northern Ireland, but this recording shows just how bad things have gotten. McDonalds and Uber must shut down joint delivery operations across the island of Ireland until worker welfare can be assured. It is an urgent priority for our union and its members that we both seek, and rapidly get answers from McDonalds and Uber.”
Fiachra O’Luain, spokesperson for the English Language Students Union of Ireland said:
“Gig economy delivery workers in the south of Ireland are experiencing the same heavy handed approach from McDonalds as the workers in the north. The Irish government must speed implementation of the EU Platform Work Directive and make a more determined effort to tackle rogue employers than we have seen to date.”
Darragh Mackin, Partner at Phoenix Law, Belfast said:
This leaked recording gives us an insight into the deeply concerning working environment that many Uber Eats drivers and couriers are living. It is essential in the digital era, that all steps are taken to ensure that those individuals who are working within this sector, have their fundamental human rights protected. Given the stark content, we have now been instructed to consider the possible legal avenues to which the various Uber Eats drivers and couriers can seek redress.
(Updated October 29th, 2024 with comment from Phoenix Law.)
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