Undocumented Immigrants Dominate Brussels Food Delivery Scene, Investigation Reveals

They are between 18 and 30 years old and come from North and West Africa, but also from South America, Pakistan, Syria and Afghanistan, reveals an investigation by the newspaper le Soir, noting their sometimes difficulty in communicating with customers.

Through this investigation, the newspaper set out to verify the situation of bicycle delivery people who are numerous in the Brussels cities. Most of the delivery people interviewed say "not to have papers" and use a "fake" Uber Eats or Deliveroo account to get their job.

This illegal system on the platforms has been favored by the law on the collaborative economy passed in 2018, acknowledges the Ministry of the Economy, which plans to revise this law by the end of the year, the investigation points out.

"Undocumented delivery people now make up the majority of the workforce on the platforms in Brussels," said Nada Ladraa, initiator of the Brussels movement "Coursiers en lutte", adding that "the worsening of working and pricing conditions is at the origin of the shift that occurred about two years ago, reinforced by the Covid-19 epidemic: no one wants to do this job anymore, only those who have no other options remain".

In the wake of this, the Deliveroo platform reacted to this publication. It claims not to recognize itself in its revelations, as it employs delivery people with residence permits. "To date, we have received very few concrete reports of such illegal activities that would allow us to take action. When they have reached us, we have taken the required measures and collaborated with the police," it specified.