‘Entry of domestic workers in delivery market a threat’ – Part-timers snatch 50% requests

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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 27: Around 47,000 drivers are currently employed in officially recognized delivery companies who are supposed to deal with 300,000 delivery requests daily; as the average delivery capacity of each driver ranges from 15 to 20 per day, reports Al-Qabas daily. The owners of delivery companies told the daily that despite the high number of workers in the delivery sector, the presence of freelance or part-time workers has become a threat to them and their employees; considering that the latter handle more than 50 percent of the daily delivery requests, as many clients prefer to use certain applications due to the low operational cost.

The Delivery Companies Association (DCA) cited the entry of domestic workers in the delivery sector as one of the problems they are currently facing. The association disclosed that the sponsors of these workers collect their salaries through the self employment system; such that the workers earn about KD240 to KD350 per month, instead of KD120 from the original employer, while the officially recognized companies spend about KD1,300 for each worker.

The association went on to say that those who shifted to the delivery sector include teachers, carpenters, domestic workers and electricians; indicating some applications tempt them by offering a higher salary for 15 delivery requests per or more daily. They pointed out that the entry of domestic workers, government contract workers and others into the delivery sector led to a remarkable decrease in the work of officially recognized delivery workers to five to seven requests per day, instead of 20. They called on the Ministry of Interior to strictly implement the law, particularly the deportation of expatriate workers offering delivery service as a part-timer or freelancer.

They argued it is not enough to ask these workers to present a permission signed by their employers or transfer them to another sector, since violations are repeated without deterrence. In a related development, an official source from the Public Authority for Manpower hinted on a plan to implement a system to regulate the delivery sector. He said the authority is currently working on the technicalities of using a barcode for each worker to easily show relevant data; such as the types of visa and driving license, to the clients or the inspectors.

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