BeU Delivery Drivers Go on Strike Over Pay, New Verification System testing

Some delivery drivers working for beU, one of Ethiopia’s largest food delivery platforms, have gone on strike, protesting low pay, unfair treatment, and recent changes to the app that they say have significantly reduced their earnings.

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The drivers state that while grievances have been building for months, the immediate trigger was a new order verification feature introduced this week. The system requires customers to share a one-time password, or OTP, with delivery personnel upon receiving their food. Drivers can only mark an order as completed after entering the code.

At the same time, beU reduced the number of orders a driver can accept simultaneously from three to two. Drivers say this change cuts into their income.

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“This significantly impacts our earnings,” one beU delivery driver told Shega, requesting anonymity for fear of repercussions. “We used to accept three orders going in the same direction. That allowed us to optimize our rides and increase our income. For example, you could complete a short delivery while heading to deliver a longer one.”

With the minimum delivery fee at 36 Birr, of which 12 Birr goes to beU as commission, drivers say limiting them to two orders makes the work financially unsustainable, especially amid rising living and operating costs.

According to drivers who spoke with Shega, customers were not properly informed about the new process. As a result, some customers refused to share the OTP after receiving their food, leaving delivery workers unable to close orders and, in some cases, unpaid despite completing the delivery.

The strikes began on Wednesday and expanded on Thursday. Some customers attempting to place orders through the beU app were met with a message stating that “service was unavailable at the moment or location due to driver safety concerns.”

Drivers say the strike affected most areas of Addis Ababa and involved the majority of delivery personnel. On Thursday, Shega attempted to access the beU app from several locations in Addis Ababa, including 22, Megenagna, and Mekanisa, and encountered the same message. However, the service was operational in Wesen. beU works with around 850 delivery drivers. Shega was unable to verify how many people participated in the strike. Videos of the strike have also been circulating on TikTok.

Fikreab Habte, Chief Operating Officer at beU Delivery, says the ongoing protest is being driven by a small group of delivery workers and does not represent the majority of the company’s couriers.

“The protest is orchestrated by about 10 to 20 delivery workers who are not good performers,” he told Shega. “Our high-performing delivery workers are not participating.”

Fikreab acknowledged that a newly introduced order verification feature has played a role in triggering the protest.

“The OTP system was introduced after long-standing customer complaints,” Fikreab said. “Customers told us deliveries were being marked complete before they actually received their orders.”

He added that the feature is intended to protect customers and improve service accountability, not to penalize delivery workers.

beU has long been recognized as a job creator in Addis Ababa, a city with high youth unemployment. Some drivers freely admit this and say they appreciate the opportunity the startup has provided. However, they argue that gratitude should not come at the expense of fair compensation.

“This is not about whether we should be thankful to have a job,” one driver said. “It is about the value of our work not being properly compensated.”

One driver participating in the strike said there are days he earns between 300 and 400 Birr and up to 800 Birr on Sundays. He added that the job is physically demanding and requires long hours, often working seven days a week to maintain a decent income.

Founded in June 2021, beU is among the first on-demand food delivery services in Ethiopia and has since grown to dominate the sector, averaging around 4,000 orders per day. The company has expanded into multiple verticals, though food delivery still accounts for the lion's share of its orders. beU has invested over four million dollars in the business. In June, the company told Shega it had completed three million deliveries since its inception. 

Fikreab rejects claims that delivery fees have remained unchanged, stating that beU has adjusted payments multiple times.

“We have increased payments three times, both in per-kilometer rates and night-time compensation,” he said. “But we cannot increase payments disproportionately. Customers matter too. We are a service delivery company, and to stay in the market while maintaining our core mission of affordability, we have limits.”

Beyond pay, drivers also raise concerns about beU’s working environment. They allege that the company consistently prioritizes customers over delivery workers. When a customer files a complaint, drivers say they are often suspended immediately, without investigation or explanation.

“If a customer changes their delivery location and this causes a delay, the delivery worker is still held responsible,” another driver currently on strike told Shega. “We lose 50 percent of our payment even though the delay is not our fault.”

Drivers also claim that raising concerns or questioning work conditions can result in suspension without clear justification.

Safety is another major concern. According to drivers, beU does not take responsibility for injuries, accidents, or damages that occur during deliveries. “beU connects customers and delivery workers and takes no responsibility for what happens to us on the road,” the driver added.

Drivers say they expect the company to make a decisio