Status: 23.12.2021 8:15 a.m.
Never before have so many parcels been sent before Christmas as this year. The burden on the deliverer is enormous. Trade unionists are demanding legal rules for better working conditions.
The numbers are impressive. In the run-up to Christmas, i.e. in November and December, the parcel services transport 16 million courier, express or parcel shipments every day. Almost nine million of these are delivered to private recipients. The Federal Association of Parcel and Express Logistics has calculated these figures. The corona crisis accelerated growth in the industry as many shops had to close for weeks. The fact that unvaccinated people are currently no longer allowed to enter many shops will probably benefit online trading and further increase the number of parcel shipments.
The chairman of the Federal Association of Parcel and Express Logistics, Marten Bosselmann, speaks of growth of up to three percent compared to the previous year. “In order to cope with the high volume of shipments, the company will employ up to 30,000 additional workers and up to 25,000 additional vehicles,” says Bosselmann. In 2020, the companies in the industry employed more than 255,000 people, according to the association’s figures.
Ver.di doubts fair working conditions
But the working conditions are very different: While Deutsche Post and UPS mostly employ permanent staff, competitors such as Hermes or DPD have so far mainly relied on subcontractors. Fair working conditions, ensuring high social standards and a good working environment are central factors for the member companies, according to the Federal Association of Parcel and Express Logistics.
But that is exactly what the service union ver.di doubts. The growth in the industry has meant that working conditions have suffered greatly, says Stefan Thyroke. He is division manager for logistics at the union. Thyroke speaks of enormous physical strain. “A lot of drivers carry the parcels by hand, that is an incredible amount of weight. One driver carries a total of one elephant per day.” In addition, there would be a lot of stress and a lot of overtime in the run-up to Christmas.
In most cases, the drivers are not employed directly by the company, but by subcontractors. As a result, there is no collective agreement. Often these are small companies that do not have to have a works council. “At Hermes, for example, 11,000 drivers work exclusively for subcontractors. At DPD, there are just 600 permanent employees – 11,000, on the other hand, for subcontractors,” says Thyroke. The reason is obvious. You have to pay less, and overtime can be more maxed out. According to ver.di, the growth of the industry is leading to a labor shortage that is primarily met from Eastern Europe. Many of the employees do not know their rights in this country.
Amazon in the criticism
The US online retailer Amazon is repeatedly criticized. There is a completely different kind of occupation here: the so-called flex model. “In this model, solo self-employed people work who are completely dependent on themselves.” But this is not permissible, in Thyroke’s opinion. Since the deliverers are involved in the operational processes, use the company’s hardware and software and have to follow instructions, they have to be employed subject to social security contributions.
Ver.di demands that the new federal government take decisive action against questionable working conditions in the industry. Customs must control social security fraud, falling below the minimum wage, undeclared work and illegal employment more closely. The social insurance agency is calling on ver.di to carry out more tax audits in order to end bogus self-employed employment.
“Starting wage of twelve euros”
Amazon sees itself wrongly attacked: The statements do not correspond to the reality of the thousands of people who are employed at Amazon and its partner companies all over Germany and who bring parcels to Amazon customers every day, according to a spokesman. “For example, we introduced the starting wage of twelve euros and made it a reality for all Amazon employees in Germany. We also pay our delivery partners accordingly so that they can pay their employees well. We conduct regular audits and investigations and take action if we find that this is not the case, “said the Amazon spokesman.
The supply partners are contractually obliged to comply with all applicable laws, in particular with regard to wages, social security contributions and working hours. There is also a driver hotline that is available to all drivers in various languages. There, deliverers could also share their feedback anonymously. The criticized Flex models are only used for people who only want to work for Amazon from time to time, for example students, according to the company.
Delivery on the same day has consequences
Amazon has messed up the market with almost unbeatable delivery conditions. Same day delivery makes for an attractive service for those who order something. But he puts the deliverers under a lot of pressure.
Ver.di also appeals to customers here. Whether in the online shop or at supermarkets, customers should carefully consider whether they really always use the offer “delivered in a few hours”, says Thyroke. It must be clear to them that this is often only possible with poor working conditions.