In Italy, delivery services have to pay a fine totaling 733 million euros.
Food deliverer.
The EU Commission wants to better protect food suppliers, Uber drivers and other so-called platform workers from exploitation. “The platform work opens up new opportunities for employees, the self-employed, customers and companies,” said the Brussels authority on Wednesday. “At the same time, however, new forms of precarious working relationships can arise.”
Companies in the field are often accused of exploiting the status of their employees as “self-employed”.
Working conditions under criticism
In the corona pandemic, platform business models have proven to be extremely useful “to ensure access to services in the middle of lockdown,” the commission explained. But the already precarious working conditions of many platform employees have become even more difficult, “for example with regard to access to social protection and income stability”.
Delivery service companies are often accused of exploiting the status of their employees as “self-employed” to save on social security contributions and to outsource other costs and risks. Many of these self-employed “are essentially working for a client who should be their employer and give them the benefits and status of an employee,” said Martin Willems of the Belgian union CSC.
In order to tackle the problem, Brussels wants to hold talks with the social partners in the EU countries for six weeks. If the unions and online platforms fail to find common solutions, the Commission wants to hold further discussions on possible measures at EU level. If this does not improve the situation either, “the Commission will present an initiative by the end of the year”.
Penalties in Italy
In Italy, international online food delivery services such as Deliveroo, Glovo, Uber and Just Eat have to pay fines totaling 733 million euros for imposing unreasonable working conditions on their bicycle couriers. This was announced by the Milan public prosecutor on Wednesday. The investigators examined the working conditions of 60,000 bicycle messengers in Italy. The investigation had been initiated on the basis of complaints from delivery men.
According to the Milan prosecutors, it is illegal for the delivery men to be paid for each order delivered, without vacation or Christmas bonuses. In the future, they should receive an employment contract and no longer be treated as self-employed, demanded the prosecutors.
Conflict in Austria too
Precarious work and wages in this branch are also an issue in Austria. At the beginning of February, for example, statements by the head of the online food ordering platform Mjam, Arthur Schreiber, that hiring all bicycle messengers would “kill the industry”, caused severe criticism from the vida union.
Schreiber had said that most bicycle messengers would prefer flexibility to employment according to the collective agreement with 13th and 14th salary and paid sick leave. vida had spoken of “cynical statements” and said that she would continue to fight against the bogus self-employment in this branch.
