Wages considered increasingly low and working conditions at the limit, especially with the heat waves of recent weeks. For this reason, with the support of the trade unions, the riders of the main Italian cities have called a strike for Wednesday 15 July. Glovo, Deliveroo and Just Eat delivery drivers will fold their arms in Milan, Bologna and Florence to ask for greater protection, starting with the blocking of activities during the hottest hours.
A request in line with the ordinance in force until September, which riders ask for compliance with without this turning into a reduction in wages. In the intentions of the municipal administrations, the measure serves above all to protect their health. But the problem is that the majority of riders are paid by the piece: not working means not bringing home a salary.
Milan, Florence, Bologna
In detail, on July 15th from 6pm the delivery workers of Glovo, Deliveroo and Just Eat will stop in Milan, joining the strike. The decision was taken, together with the trade unions NIdiL Cgil Milano and Filt Cgil Milano, last 10 July in a meeting held in Piazza Duca d’Aosta, in front of the Central Station. “We ask Glovo, Deliveroo and the prefect of Milan for tangible solutions for workers: measures that protect their health without forcing them to lose wages”, explained Andrea Bacchin of NIdiL Cgil.
Glovo and Deliveroo workers will also not be circulating on the streets of Florence from 6pm on Wednesday 15 July. The decision was taken during an assembly promoted by the NIdiL Cgil Firenze union precisely to take stock of the main critical issues and to decide on the next mobilization initiatives, confirmed by NIdiL Cgil Firenze.
Even in Bologna, riders’ bikes will stop to protest “against exploitative policies”, the failure to increase wages and working conditions in the extreme heat. The meeting will be in Piazza Nettuno at 4.30pm, with a city procession along Via Indipendenza and Piazza VII Agosto, with expected arrival in Piazza XX Settembre.
The territorial mobilization precedes the national table at the Ministry of Labour, scheduled for 16 July. “Our demands are a direct attack on the business model of the platforms”, declared the union NIdiL Cgil, calling for the immediate opening “of a real discussion table because the platforms systematically refuse dialogue with the union and even ignore the rulings of the judiciary on salary increases. Those who cycle in the city cannot pay the price of climate change out of their own pockets”.
Strike in Piedmont on Thursday 16th
The riders of Piedmont will also join the strike: they will fold their arms on Thursday 16 July, from 10am to 5pm throughout the region, because “the platforms do not respect the ordinance issued by the Piedmont Region for the protection of workers employed outside in conditions of prolonged exposure to the sun, with concrete risks for health and safety”.