Black Friday is well known for being the biggest bargain day of the year for major online retailers. The discounts offered are big and turnover is enormous. But who actually pays the price? That’s right: the people who deliver the parcels and who work so hard every day to ensure your packages reach their destination. Which is why my union BTB-ABVV is again holding ‘Courier Day’ in Belgium on 29th November. And, in recognition for all the hard work they put in every day, they are making couriers feel truly appreciated for the job they do. Because they deserve to receive a parcel more than anyone else.
Couriers are the people who make sure we receive the items we order on time. Despite the high working pressures and long hours they endure, couriers remain essential links in the logistics chain. Which is why it is so important that they receive the appreciation they deserve. In the form of fair pay and respect for the work they do. So, on Black Friday, BTB-ABVV will be handing out a package of their own to parcel couriers working at the depots of major e-commerce companies across Belgium.
The people who drive for parcel delivery companies (such as Amazon, for example) carry out their tasks in conditions that are anything but pleasant. The working day is long, workloads are high and respect for drivers is far from what it should be. BTB is recognising them for what they do and – perhaps more importantly – how they do it. On the 29th, BTB will be offering them support, seeking them out where they work, handing out packages and chatting with them. That’s how you get to find out what is going on.
Despite the rising revenues enjoyed by the courier companies, wages are not rising with them. Worse than that, drivers’ wages are simply too low, including those of the parcel delivery drivers. Drivers have to be increasingly flexible. And despite more and more being asked of them, their wages are not increasing. Profits for the major e-commerce companies are growing like crazy, yet none of the drivers share in those profits. That is unacceptable.
At the BRC conference on sustainable e-commerce, it was pointed out that the distribution sector is changing, with the growth of e-commerce adding to the workload for parcel deliverers. However, their working conditions are lagging behind. BTB-ABVV is arguing for fair pay and respect for the work they do. A sector such as this one, where every penny is carefully watched, has an interest in clarity: both for drivers and for road safety. Which is why we are arguing unequivocally for the introduction of Safe-Rates legislation. These are clear minimum rates that apply to every player in the industry. They are verifiable and can easily be looked up by all customers. It is the method needed for tackling excesses in the sector and improving working conditions for all drivers in the sector.
