The death of a motorcycle courier in a traffic accident in Istanbul and the lenient sentencing of the man who allegedly killed him have sparked a debate about the conditions of large-scale workers at a time when they are an increasingly important driver of the global economy.

Mohammed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, a son of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was initially sentenced to two and a half years in prison Sentence for the death of courier Yunus Emre Gocer in a traffic accident. However, the sentence was immediately commuted to a small fine on Tuesday in light of Mohamud’s good “behaviour” and “remorse”, the court said.

The order sparked outrage after videos of the incident were shared on social media, leading to calls for better protection for couriers in Turkey. Since the pandemic, takeout and delivery options have become a staple in many economies, but thousands of delivery drivers are operating with few or no physical or legal protections.

Here’s what we know about Gocer’s case, the conditions of delivery workers around the world – and how much the modern economy relies on them.

What happened?

Gocer, 38, was riding his motorcycle on a highway in Istanbul on November 30 when a car with diplomatic license plates crashed into him from behind, seriously injuring him. Gocer died of his injuries on December 5th.

Mohamud, who drove the car, left Turkey before an arrest warrant and a travel ban could be issued. Officials said he returned to Turkey on January 12 to make a statement, after which the arrest warrant and travel ban were lifted.

During Tuesday’s court hearing, which Mohamud did not attend, Gocer’s lawyers argued that the defendant was primarily to blame and that he failed to slow down and give way to the cyclist despite the victim’s suggestion that he was braking.

The judge initially sentenced Mohamud to three years in prison, which was then reduced to two and a half years and eventually commuted to a fine due to his “conduct” and “remorse,” according to local reports.

The public prosecutor had charged Mohamud with negligent homicide and demanded a six-year prison sentence. But on Tuesday, the 33rd Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul ruled on a fine of 27,300 Turkish lira ($906). Mohamud’s driver’s license was also revoked for six months.

Videos of the accident have flooded social media as some people have called for a harsher punishment for Mohamud. In the clip, Gocer can be seen riding his motorcycle on the busy highway that is the main road to Ataturk Airport. A video shows the driver slowing down for a few seconds before a car crashes into him from behind, knocking Gocer and the motorcycle off the road.

Mesut Ceki, head of Kurye Haklari, a courier rights group, told Al Jazeera that justice had not been served.

“Honestly, as car couriers we think this is not a punishment,” said Ceki, who was present at the sentencing. “What Turkey and the world have witnessed through camera footage is a murder disguised as an accident. I am also a courier. If I die and the person who is 75 percent responsible for my death isn’t going to spend a day in jail, if they’re going to walk free for money that won’t even cost them a snack because of their position, then that’s not who it is If only I die, it is justice and humanity that die.”

How important are delivery drivers?

Globally, delivery drivers have become the heartbeat of a “quick commerce” market that has been crucial during the pandemic and continues to grow. About seven million people work as courier drivers in China, while about two million courier drivers are employed in the United States and India combined.

In South Korea, one of the five largest food delivery markets, Courier driver Almost 800,000 people work for food and grocery companies.

If these millions of delivery workers walked off the job, they would disrupt an online grocery delivery market expected to reach $1 trillion this year and a grocery delivery sector expected to grow to $80 billion by 2028. Dollar will grow.

Customers in China would be most annoyed about this. In 2023, more than 500 million people used food delivery apps in China, the highest number in the world. In the US, the second-largest market, a survey found that at least 60 percent of more than 2,000 respondents had used a food app in three months.

In the United Kingdom, also one of the industry’s five major markets, 12.7 million people order food and groceries online and the market is worth 2.75 billion pounds ($3.4 billion).

How risky is the job for couriers like Gocer?

There are an estimated 200,000 couriers in Turkey who use motorcycles or scooters. They earn an average of $300 per month. According to Kurye Haklari, at least 68 couriers died at work last year – significantly more than one death per week. An estimated 58 drivers died in 2022 and at least 30 in 2021. Some of them were teenagers.

Deaths of delivery drivers in Turkey are also often treated as accidents rather than “occupational homicides,” which could force vehicle drivers to be more careful, Ceki said.

If they were treated as occupational homicides, he added, “the employer, in particular, could be held responsible as a party to accidents involving courier services.” They would recognize that it is their duty to take measures to protect workers and policies in this regard to develop.”

“Just as doctors work in hospitals, teachers work in schools and farmers work in the fields, we as couriers also work in transport. Traffic is our workplace. “Just as workplace accidents are ‘occupational accidents,’ deaths in our workplace should also be viewed as such,” argued Ceki.

Gocer’s case has attracted widespread attention in Turkey and Somalia.

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters days after Gocer’s death: “If there is fault, if there is a crime, it will be prosecuted. “He could be the son of the Somali president, or he could be a citizen.”

While Gocer was reportedly delivering a package, most of the delivery workers killed while doing their jobs were delivering food, Kurye Haklari noted.

“Our greatest wish is that the laws are regulated in favor of courier workers and that they make decisions on the side of the right, not on the side of the powerful and rich,” Ceki said.

What are the working conditions in other countries?

As in Turkey, conditions for courier drivers are poor in several countries. Popular courier platforms such as the German company Gorillas, which operates in six countries and promises “groceries at your doorstep in minutes,” have been criticized by workers for not paying them on time, refusing to provide good protective equipment and firing those who do dare to protest, criticize, or unionize.

India, home to some of the world’s most congested cities, has perhaps one of the worst records. Several delivery apps have flooded the market, competing intensely and promising deliveries within 10 minutes as a selling point. But drivers, who earn about $47 a week, are bearing the brunt. Additional weekly fees cause drivers to rush to place dozens of orders during “peak” lunch times, leading to traffic accidents or, worse, deaths. It is unclear how many delivery drivers have died in the country.

In 2021, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded more than 1,000 deaths in the “driver/salesperson” category, which includes app-based delivery drivers. The deaths were mainly due to road accidents, but customer abuse and assaults were also listed – common problems for courier workers. In one case in April, a DoorDash employee making a delivery in Florida was forced to get back in her car, driven miles away and sexually assaulted.

Malaysia reported about 1,200 accidents involving delivery drivers in 2023. In Australia, researchers found that one in three courier drivers are injured on the job, but most continue to work.

Better equipment, better pay and health insurance would go a long way toward protecting delivery workers, experts said. But delivery companies are afraid to provide drivers with better equipment because it could be classified as uniforms, indicating that a worker is an employee rather than a contractor, says Mark Graham, a professor at Oxford Internet Institute and Director of the Fairwork Project. evaluates the company in more than 30 countries based on factors such as pay and insurance management. A worker would have more rights and companies could be held legally responsible if they are injured or died on the job.

“Most of the harm suffered by workers is due to the precarious position in which they are placed as a result of being classified as self-employed,” Graham said, emphasizing the need for proper contracts. “When you enlist a relatively impoverished member of society with no training, no safety equipment, and no safety net to work on your platform, you are making an active decision to shift many risks solely onto the shoulders of that worker.”

What happens next in the Gocer case?

Metin Gocer, the late driver’s father, will appeal the verdict, a lawyer representing him told reporters in court on Tuesday.

Turkey is one of Somalia’s strongest allies and donors. As officials investigate how Mohamud was able to leave the country after the accident, President Sheikh Mohamud told The Associated Press in December that his son did not “escape Turkey” and that he had advised him to face court .

“Turkey is a brotherly country,” the president said. “We respect the laws, the judiciary and the justice system. As President of Somalia, I will never allow anyone to violate this country’s justice system.”