- Title: Spain's food delivery riders split over law aimed at regulating gig economy
- Date: 3rd March 2021
- Summary: BARCELONA, SPAIN (RECENT - FEBRUARY 26, 2021) (REUTERS) PAPER BAG CONTAINING FOOD BEING PLACED INSIDE YELLOW ISOTHERMAL RUCKSACK 19-YEAR-OLD FOOD DELIVERY RIDER MANZUR HOQUE PUTTING GLOVO RUCKSACK ON AND RIDING HIS BIKE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FOOD DELIVERY RIDER FROM BANGLADESH, MANZURUL HOQUE, 19, SAYING: "Hi, my name is Manzur, I'm from Bangladesh, I work as a delivery rider for Glovo and Uber, and what I like the most (about this job) is having the freedom to be able to work whenever I want and as long as I want." VARIOUS OF HOQUE RIDING ON THE STREET TO DELIVER FOOD ORDER CLOSE OF HOQUE PEDALLING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FOOD DELIVERY RIDER FROM BANGLADESH, MANZURUL HOQUE, 19, SAYING: "What we love about this job is freedom, being able to work when we want, being able to go out to work when we need it, if we need more work or our rental expenses grow, we work twice as much, no one is going to tell us that we cannot work."
- Embargoed: 17th March 2021 09:59
- Keywords: Deliveroo Just Eat Uber Eats apps delivery riders employee food delivery self-employed
- Location: BARCELONA & MADRID, SPAIN
- City: BARCELONA & MADRID, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Europe
- Reuters ID: LVA001E2J2KP3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A new Spanish bill has sparked controversy among food delivery riders as it aims to make digital platforms such as Glovo, Deliveroo, and Uber Eats hire their riders providing more legal security and protection to workers of the gig economy, forcing a business re-shape for the whole sector in Europe.
So-called gig workers, such as food-delivery couriers, generally do not receive full employment benefits such as wage protection, social security, or insurance under current contracts in Spain.
The death of 48-year-old Venezuelan born Nestor Perez last month on the streets of Madrid while delivering a food order for Deliveroo put the spotlight on the precarious working conditions of riders, often immigrants, at a time when the Spanish government, ahead of its European peers, is preparing a law to legislate the sector.
Spain's plan is to give workers - and their families in case of a fatal accident - more rights by making the riders staff, government, and union sources said after the Supreme Court ruled in September that people working via Barcelona-based food delivery app Glovo were employees, not freelancers.
This is welcome news to some of these gig workers, but for others, like Bangladeshi rider Manzurul Hoque, 19, such a law will take away flexibility, preventing them from making much-needed money by restricting the hours they can work.
"What we love about this job is freedom, being able to work when we want, being able to go out to work when we need it, if we need more work or our rental expenses grow, we work twice as much, no one is going to tell us that we cannot work," he said.
Fellow rider and countryman Rana Azad, 28, disagrees.
"Man, I'm in a bad situation, yes, because I have spent a couple of weeks in which I have been working eight, nine or ten hours a day but I earn ten or fifteen (euros), this doesn't help me make a living, to eat, to support my family, it would be nice for me to have a contract and a fixed salary," Azad said as he waited connected to his Uber Eats App next to dozens of other riders in a square in central Barcelona.
Labour unions denounce that some delivery companies are hiring riders through an intermediary company with an account to adapt to the new legislative plan while avoiding hiring staff directly.
A representative of UGT, the union that is negotiating the new law directly with the government, said there is no other option for these companies than to hire the riders.
"If the platform, by using an App, tells you where to work, how many orders you have to take, your salary and where do you have to be and at what time, you are an employed worker. The company is the boss," UGT spokesperson Gonzalo Pino said.
The details of Spain's new law are still being discussed with unions and business associations, and could be unveiled as early as this week, government and union sources said.
Hiring someone as staff in Spain entails a social security cost, which amounts to about a third of the payroll. In addition, they must be paid the minimum wage (1,108 euros per month) or its proportion in partial-time and the company must provide them with the means to carry out their work, such as a bicycle or motorbike.
Over the past year where restaurants have suffered the biggest financial blow in decades due to the tough restrictions to contain the coronavirus pandemic, riders have been highly regarded among Spaniards for risking their own health to deliver meals.
"I do believe that they exposed themselves because going out during the time when nobody wanted to go out and everyone was afraid, they did a job that will have to be highly regarded."
said 22-year-old Ariadna Sanchez.
While many riders will welcome the security of a staff position, hundreds of other riders have been staging protests across Spain to demand an amendment of the bill that includes the option to remain self-employed.
(Production: Jordi Rubio, Luis Felipe Castilleja, Elena Rodriguez, Silvio Castellanos) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None