Canadian and American Instacart workers plan to walk off the job this weekend in a bid to secure better pay and more benefits, reports The Canadian Press.
Non-profit labour group Gig Workers Collective says it expects up to 70 per cent of independent contractors working for the grocery delivery app to stop accepting orders on Oct. 16.
Instacart is a California-based company that uses independent contractors to fulfil grocery delivery or pickup orders placed through its app. The workers are hoping the move will convince the company to raise the app’s default tip to at least 10 per cent for every order, reintroduce commissions and pay them by order rather than batch.
In addition to pay issues, the workers want adjustments to Instacart’s rating system. The current system allows customers to provide negative comments for issues outside their shoppers’ control like when a customer claims missing or damaged groceries, even when a worker has provided photos or proof that the delivery was complete and intact. The workers say Instacart often offers the customer free groceries in such cases, and the worker gets a lowered rating or is deactivated from the app.
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