From DW Documentary.

In many German cities, bicycle couriers deliver burgers, pizza, and other food to people’s homes. Thousands of these riders come from India, lured by the promise of studying in Germany, and have incurred heavy debts.

"We’re not animals!” complains Shiwani S. after a hard day at the Berlin labor court. The bicycle courier, who is in late pregnancy, has been waiting for a year and a half for several months’ wages to be paid. "Why don’t Germans do these jobs at Lieferando, Wolt, or Uber Eats?” agrees Samee U. "Ask yourselves that!”

The documentary explores this question and uncovers a system of exploitation that is becoming increasingly widespread in German cities: thousands of young Indians come to the country for worthless degrees at expensive private universities. They are lured here by agencies and heavily in debt, as a result.

Once in Germany, they are ripped off by unscrupulous landlords and end up working for entrepreneurs who exploit them: with bogus employment contracts, forced illegal work, and pay far below the minimum wage.

The film provides insight into the precarious living situation of Indian courier drivers in Germany. The filmmakers immersed themselves in the community for months to conduct their research.
Lawyer Martin Bechert describes delivery services such as Wolt, Lieferando, and Uber Eats as "labor law laboratories.” He represents many courier drivers, who are increasingly fighting back against their working and living conditions, despite considerable difficulty.

Word of the conditions has now spread as far as India. In an interview, the German ambassador in New Delhi, Dr. Philipp Ackermann, warns against misguided migration that ends up in "illegal employment and precarious living conditions” via dubious educational institutions. This comes at the expense of Indian students, whose hopes for a better life often only benefit others.

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