Concerns about Checkers Sixty60

Shoprite’s on-demand delivery service, Checkers Sixty60, has received much praise for its success over the past few years. However, allegations about it neglecting its riders are mounting.

A MyBroadband reader and former Sixty60 rider recently reached out to describe their experience working for the platform, which ultimately ended in their bike being loaded on a truck and being blocked from the app.

It is important to note that Checkers outsources all the platform’s logistics to logistics partner Pingo — a joint venture between Shoprite and RTT.

Thus, the reader, who we will refer to as Rider A to maintain anonymity, worked directly for Pingo.

Rider A was stationed at the Checkers at Heiderand Mall in Mosselbay from September 2022 until February this year, when they were allegedly dismissed after addressing difficulties faced by the drivers in their delivery team.

They said that everything went smoothly during their first year of work. Their shift started at 08:00 and would typically finish at 17:00, with others working shifts ending at 18:30.

However, Pingo then started going through hiring and firing cycles, which involved 15 to 20 riders added to the delivery team, creating an oversupply of riders relative to order frequency, according to Rider A.

They said that as a result, several riders would randomly be blocked from using the app, preventing them from earning on certain days.

Shoprite told MyBroadband that it only blocks riders from the app if they have violated their service contract.

The cycle apparently ended with about 15 riders being dismissed by Pingo, leaving them without an income. Rider A said this process would happen twice a year.

Then, working hours started changing without notice — a common theme in these allegations made against Pingo.

Rider A said their working hours suddenly increased from a nine-hour shift to working from 07:00 to 19:30.

They said they had no choice but to start accepting orders early in the morning because rejecting an order could result in being blocked from the app.

The next unannounced change to operations by Pingo was the removal of the R350 minimum daily fee drivers would receive, regardless of how many deliveries they make.

This resulted in a stayaway strike because the oversupply of riders prevented them from recouping what they would have made with the minimum fee. The minimum fee was then reinstated.

Rider A emphasised the importance of this minimum fee by breaking down their monthly earnings while working for Pingo.

They said they would earn roughly R7,600 monthly when receiving the minimum fee. However, riders had to cover their own fuel costs and bike rental.

The fuel costs amounted to R3,200 per month, and the bike rental was R400 per week, leaving Rider A with R2,800 in net monthly earnings.

Without a minimum fee, this total would be much lower. Rider A said that if riders made 13 or more deliveries, they would earn R30 to R35 a delivery, and if they did not reach 13, they would get the minimum fee.

Soon after the first strike, the minimum fee was removed again, prompting another stayaway strike from the delivery team.

Rider A and another rider volunteered to voice the team’s concerns to someone from the Checkers branch, which they did.

They arrived at the Checkers the next day to pick up an order and were told that someone from Pingo’s head office was there.

After picking up the order, they arrived at their bike only to find that it was being loaded onto the back of a truck — despite being a rent-to-buy agreement with Pingo — and then found that they were blocked from the app.

Besides being blocked and having their bike taken away, Rider A has not received communication from Pingo about why they were dismissed.

MyBroadband contacted Shoprite and Pingo about the allegations. Shoprite did not comment on the allegations and requested the name of the store to investigate further.

Pingo did not respond by the time of publication.

Further concerns

Rider A said that they, along with the other rider who spoke up, made up half of the South African riders in the 30-person team.

This raises another concern about Pingo’s operations: its preference for hiring foreign riders whose working conditions are more easily exploited than locals’.

Reputed South African Twitter/X account Goolam (@goolammv) recently accused Sixty60’s delivery partner of barely employing any locals.

Goolam has gained a reputation for the accuracy of sensitive information they release relating to South African politics and cases of alleged corruption against high-profile individuals.

Goolam alleged that Sixty60 had created 9,987 jobs, around 9,900 of which were held by foreign nationals. That works out to roughly 99.1% of the total workforce.

Goolam also accused the Department of Labour of being silent on the issue.

South Africa’s labour laws allow the Department of Home Affairs to issue special permits on foreign employment for certain companies which require critical skills that might not be easy to come by among locals.

It would be strange if a company could employ such a high proportion of foreign workers for jobs that do not require critical skills.