Battle the algorithms: China’s delivery riders on the edge

The plight of food delivery and truck drivers caught public attention after little compensation was offered to the family of one courier who died delivering meals for Ele.me in Beijing, and a second set himself on fire in a dispute with the firm over pay. — AFP Relaxnews

BEIJING: Handing over a piping hot meal at exactly the time promised, Chinese food delivery driver Zhuang Zhenhua triumphantly tapped his job as complete through the Meituan app – and was immediately fined half of his earnings.

A glitch meant it inaccurately registered him as being late and he incurred an automatic penalty – one of many ways, he said, delivery firms exploit millions of workers even as the sector booms.