American multinational Uber has said it is willing to pay significant compensation to the family of Sultan Zadran, the Uber Eats delivery courier killed last week when his bicycle was crushed by a FlixBus bus in Brussels, Bruzz reports.
Trade union BTB-ABVV, the Belgian Union of Transport Workers, is representing Zadran’s family in its demand for compensation following the accident. The union had its first consultation with Uber on Tuesday on support for the victim’s family and relatives.
Back in October, following social unrest, the union and Uber signed a historic agreement, the first of its kind in Europe, committing Uber to raise working conditions throughout the delivery and transportation sector.
The ABVV-BTB is now the representative of all riders using the Uber app.
“We had informed Uber in advance that we were going to discuss this,” Tom Peeters, deputy secretary of the union said. “After the consultation, they first had to coordinate internally, but they have since agreed.” Uber has reportedly already proposed a compensation package to the family, who are considering the offer.
The union boss said that the offer from Uber was “a very generous proposal”, which reportedly includes money for funeral costs, repatriation, and other compensation. Zadran has family both in Pakistan and Brussels.
38-year-old Zadran was originally from Afghanistan, residing in Belgium for around 10 years and living in Saint-Gilles. His family fled to Pakistan after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, where they currently live. Zadran is survived by five children and a wife, who is pregnant with his sixth child.
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Delivery drivers and bicycle couriers deplore their dangerous working conditions, with Uber refusing to provide proper professional insurance for its workers.
A study conducted by the University College of London in 2018 showed that 75% of delivery drivers have had to take serious action to avoid a crash, 42% have had their vehicle damaged due to an accident whilst working, 10% had witnessed injuries, 8% had been injured themselves, and 2% had injured someone else.
