“I’ll come to break your head, I’ll come and slap you“. Guess, threats come from those responsible for managing and recruiting food delivery on behalf of Uber Italia. Taking advantage of the state of need of asylum seekers, marginalized people and those willing to do anything to scrape together a few euros, these labour brokerage firms do not hesitate to impose working conditions bordering on slavery. Deliveries are paid 3 euros each regardless of the route to be traveled, absurd penalties of 80 euros for the damage or loss of the work bag, tips stolen with laughable pretexts and then the main blackmail on which the chain of exploitation has always been based on: “If you do not accept any conditions you will no longer work for us“. It is rather surprising how, despite numerous judicial verdicts that, from time to time, have ruled the obligation to guarantee riders the same rights as employees (such as the benefit of and extra month salary, sick leaves and paid holidays or the obligation to equip them with all the safety devices to protect them from Covid), the related delivery platforms continue to ignore the minimum rights of these workers.
The violations committed by Uber Eats are not an exception or a novelty, but a sad custom in a world, that of virtual platforms, where gang-taking has become the rule and piecework has become the only hope of survival. in a context of increasing unemployment. For this reason it’s right and worthy that everyone joins the battle that the bicycle delivery boys have been engaged for some time through self-managed unions, which have long been asking for the regulation of this type of job through the definition of a collective agreement and the application of a national contract for the whole category. In fact, it is no longer just a question of being able to guarantee adequate remuneration and non-oppressive working conditions, but of being able to provide the delivery men with all the tools to be able to carry out their work with dignity and safety, even in a health emergency situation such as the one we are currently living in.
Simone Azzola
