Courier Worker: We Don’t Want to be ‘Super Carriers’ of the Virus

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"We have no objections to carrying basic foodstuff and medical products. But at a time when the outbreak is so serious, carrying shirts or, I don't know, double-sided tapes or toothpicks offends us."

It is one of the demands of courier workers.

The workers of Yurtiçi Kargo courier company announced that they would launch a social media campaign in the evening of April 10 to raise concerns and publicity about their problems. They asked for support.

While the campaign #KargoÇalışanlarınınTalepleriKabulEdilsin (Demands of courier workers should be accepted) was about to start, the Ministry of Interior announced that a curfew would be imposed in 31 cities of Turkey for the weekend. Amid the public outrage caused by this last-minute announcement, the demands of courier workers could not be visible.

'We cannot use our right to take a break'

The next day, I got in touch with one of the courier workers who tweeted under the above hashtag. He constantly said "I am working, I don't have too much time" and answered my questions swiftly.

What he told me all in one breath is a long list of problems revealing the conditions of workers amid coronavirus pandemic in Turkey.

He first said that one of their colleagues was dismissed because he liked the tweets posted by Yurtiçi Kargo workers to make themselves heard.

Then, he shared the following anecdotes with bianet:

"I have been working as a courier worker for almost one and a half year. On the list that we sign every evening, our work hours are indicated as 8.30 in the morning till 7 in the evening. We have the right to take a break for 1 hour 45 minutes a day. However, we cannot use even half an hour. Moreover, at times, we also worked till 8 or 9 in the evening. But they neither pay overtime wages, nor do they allow anyone to leave till the work is finished.

"The 'stay home' call of the government to slow down the outbreak has been reciprocated by a segment of the society who have the means and people have started to buy even their tiniest and unnecessary needs online, which has caused our workload to increase. While 200 packages are normally delivered to a neighborhood, this number has increased to 500, but two additional courier workers have not been hired. Our break hours, which we already cannot use, have become all the more impossible.

'Our problems are too numerous to be counted'

"Gloves and masks have been delivered to us as a result of our insistent requests, albeit late. However, they are not enough. First of all, masks need to be for single use and of high quality. But the ones given to us are washable masks and everyone says that they are not protective.

"Moreover, our branch has been disinfected only for once so far. We want it to be disinfected every weekend because it is not enough. We also want that every vehicle have a disinfectant.

"Our problems are too numerous to be counted. Long working hours, intense work pressure, precautions not taken to protect workers from the virus, a single worker assigned with the work of three people... We have taken up a struggle with the Patronların Ensesindeyiz (We are hard on bosses' trail) solidarity platform for more humane working conditions.

'We have no objections to urgent products'

"We carry almost everything. As you know, the government has called on people to stay home to be able to take precautions against the outbreak. And the ones who stay home have turned to shopping. We have no problems with urgent needs, but when the outbreak is so serious, we want the courier companies to not accept products that are not urgent. For instance, clothes...

"With the onset of the outbreak, cargoes have increased and we cannot catch up with it. Branches are full of cargoes and we work at our last gasp. There are only disinfectants for branches, but we want them to be given to each vehicle. Moreover, more quality masks and gloves must be provided.

"We meet hundreds of people every day, as we cannot help it, and it is a risk in itself. Some of them open the door for us while coughing. We both worry about our own health and fear that we will be 'super carriers' of the virus because we contact hundreds of people every day.

"We have no objections to carrying basic foodstuff and medical products. But at a time when the outbreak is so serious, carrying shirts or, I don't know, double-sided tapes or toothpicks offends us.

'Don't complain about us, but about the company'

"To top it all, when we deliver the packages in difficult conditions, we are sometimes reprimanded by customers. Complaints like 'my parcel has not arrived, it is broken, you didn't bring it though I was home...'

"People think that courier workers do it out of desire, but there is something else. If you force a person to do a job that can normally be done by three people, then, the courier worker leaves without ringing the bell to catch up. So, don't complain about us, but about the company." (EMK/SD)