Meal and grocery delivery jobs are often unsafe and pay low

Low wages, delivery workers under the age of 16, and dangerous working conditions. The Labor Inspectorate encountered the examples on Friday during a mass inspection of more than 350 meal delivery companies and express grocery delivery services in various cities.

Regulators found dozens of violations and said the food and fast delivery jobs were “extremely unfair and dangerous”. In more than 20 incidents, the delivery person was under the age of 16. One of them was just 13 years old. And this will be banned from 2020 to prevent many accidents involving underage delivery drivers.

In three cases, delivery workers worked longer hours than permitted and 21 were not allowed to work in the Netherlands under foreigners law. Eleven times, delivery workers were paid in cash or too little. “Our inspector met a delivery man who was paid 20 euros for his night job. Inspector General Ritz de Boer said.

Some companies did not have safety measures in place. For example, heavy products were piled high or stacked on narrow roads. Emergency exits were also regularly blocked.

The Labor Inspectorate also reported fines for delivery workers who ran red lights, drove on sidewalks and didn’t wear helmets (properly).