Risks for South Africa's food couriers surge during the pandemic

Food delivery couriers in South Africa risk serious injuries and near fatal accidents as they try to earn a living. Threadbare protections offered by platform companies, lack of adequate safety training and protective gear leave couriers vulnerable to physical injury. Yet, (mostly immigrant) couriers who live on the edge of poverty and have scant alternative employment opportunities undertake food delivery work as they desperately need the money, devising survival strategies and/or striking for better pay and protections.