Delivery workers across Mexico are under severe pressure. Fatal crashes are a known risk, and reports of robberies are practically a daily occurrence. To protect themselves and each other, delivery workers are turning to messaging apps and social networks to document grievances and rally for change.
They monitor each other in real time using WhatsApp when making deliveries in neighborhoods with high crime rates. They also collaborate to make Google Maps indicating the location of past robberies and addresses to avoid.
This is necessary because both their employers and the law have yet to keep up:
…workers say that companies do not always take their concerns seriously, often redirecting them to a chat box or email. And the constant pressure to make more deliveries exacerbates safety risks: If a worker cancels a delivery because they feel unsafe, their rating in the application can drop.
And
platform-based drivers and delivery people in Mexico are categorized as independent contractors, just as in the United States. That means they are ineligible for state or employer-funded health care, have no paid time off, and can be disconnected from their application of employment with no advance warning.