Glovo under investigation for forced labour: exploitation of riders in Milan and throughout Italia
The Milan Public Prosecutor's Office ordered a judicial review of Foodinho srl for grossly unfair working conditions, involving thousands of delivery workers and controversial union contracts.
by Sara Monaci
Key points
- in order to guarantee a free and dignified existence and manifestly contrary to the national collective agreements concluded by the most representative trade unions at national level
Glovo's Italian company, Foodinho srl, ends up under judicial control, established by an urgent decree by the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office, executed by the Milan Carabinieri of the Labour Protection Group. The order, which will have to be validated by a gip, speaks of 'exploitative conditions' and a system that leverages 'the state of need of the workers'.
The charge for the sole director Pierre Miquel Oscar is caporalisation, as well as for the company itself.
Under the lens end up the riders, who operate on the Milanese and national territory (the decree reports the figure of 2,000 people in Milan and 40,000 throughout Italia) with a salary in some cases 'up to 76.95 per cent lower than the poverty threshold and up to 81.62 per cent lower than the collective bargaining, a sum that is certainly not proportionate to either the quality or the quantity of the work performed'. Under indictment, therefore, are the contracts signed by the Ugl union and Assodelivery.
Judicial control is a regulatory instrument that does not block entrepreneurial activity. The judge appoints one or more administrators chosen from among experts (from the register of judicial administrators), who will assist the entrepreneur in the management of the company and authorise him/her to carry out the acts of administration that are useful to the business, in order to prevent situations of serious labour exploitation from occurring.
There are many precedents of civil claims in the sector. The main case before this one was that of Uber, which was charged with 'caporalato' (demanding that workers be hired). The result was that Uber left Italia.
