Some of Wolt and Foodora's food couriers are running illegal deliveries using other couriers' accounts and those carrying out the deliveries are not compensated, Helsingin Sanomat reported.
According to the paper, both Wolt and Foodora are often unaware of who is actually transporting the deliveries and under what conditions. Some couriers have also been victims of criminal exploitation.
In 2019, police began to encounter couriers in the Helsinki region who were in the country without a residence or work permit, according to HS. Apparently, many of the couriers were using someone else's account illegally, meaning they were being used as illegal workers.
In addition, HS has been looking at Facebook groups of food couriers trading Wolt and Foodora courier accounts. Several of those who rent out their accounts claim up to 30 percent of the profits for themselves.
According to a blog post published by Wolt on Sunday, the company has recently become aware of a few abuses each month. Wolt said it has carried out around 500 investigations this week to find out the extent of abuse of courier accounts.
According to Wolt, the abuse is due to the fact that more than 5,000 people a week do courier work through them alone, but there are more than 10,000 willing couriers in the queue.
"This mismatch creates a demand for unauthorised account sharing," Wolt said in its blog post.
Food courier union
Earlier this month, the Service Sector Union (PAM), approved the unionisation of an association set up by food couriers to bring together couriers from different apps in a bid to improve their economic and social position.
Unlike other labour sectors in Finland, there is no collective agreement in the courier sector and since the workers are considered self-employed, they cannot join an unemployment fund.
The delivery companies have built their businesses under the idea that the couriers who work for them are independent entrepreneurs. Finland's Labour Council, on the other hand, has argued that they are workers employed by the owners of the platforms. The EU Commission has proposed a directive to improve the status of workers in the gig economy.
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