[Spain] Casual workers oppose gig economy legislation

The first law in Europe to turn delivery riders into employees is facing widespread opposition from couriers and the companies that use them, demonstrating how difficult it will be to change the business model, Business Live reports.

The Spanish legislation followed a Supreme Court ruling last year and came into force last week. On August 9, CCOO - Spain’s biggest labour union - filed a complaint against the country’s largest online food delivery platform, Glovo, accusing it of going against the spirit of the law by keeping the majority of its drivers and riders as casual workers instead of putting them on staff contracts.

According to its website, Glovo had about 12,000 riders in March. It said it plans to hire 2,000 of them as staff by the end of the year and more in the following months. For the other riders, the company said in a statement it has updated its employment model to provide “the flexibility, autonomy and independence valued by the majority of our fleet.”

In its ruling last year, the Supreme Court said riders should be employed because, no matter how much flexibility and independence they are given, it is the companies that own the brand and the technology and provide the clients.

Daniel Gutierrez - a former courier who founded the labour association Riders x Derechos - said, “Glovo said they’ve changed two or three functions in the app and that now workers can be self-employed; it’s simply absurd.”

Glovo’s new algorithm reportedly favours its new contract staff when it allocates jobs, so there is less work for those who are not full employees. That could lead to remaining freelancers racing to underbid each other in an attempt to secure dwindling orders. Mr Gutierrez said his collective has tried to set a minimum delivery price, but he worries it will not hold.

The Spanish legislation represents the latest obstacle for a gig economy that relies on casual labour with few of the rights allocated to full employees, despite recent court challenges forcing the industry to make some concessions.

Just Eat Takeaway.com’s Spanish business was already using couriers employed by subcontractors and is now negotiating a collective agreement with the country’s main unions, the company said.

Only a quarter of Spain’s couriers have been given fixed contracts so far, according to the Professional Association of Autonomous Riders. Many of them are with employment agencies, not the delivery platforms themselves.

“The quality of the subcontract leaves a lot to be desired,” Hector Merino - president of Asoriders, another collective - said. Last week Mr Merino was offered work that involved giving one-third of his tips to an agency. “We went from being falsely self-employed to being very precariously employed,” he said.

Source: Business Live

(Via Bloomberg News)

The first law in Europe to turn delivery riders into employees is facing widespread opposition from couriers and the companies that use them, demonstrating how difficult it will be to change the business model, Business Live reports.

The Spanish legislation followed a Supreme Court ruling last year and came into force last week. On August 9, CCOO - Spain’s biggest labour union - filed a complaint against the country’s largest online food delivery platform, Glovo, accusing it of going against the spirit of the law by keeping the majority of its drivers and riders as casual workers instead of putting them on staff contracts.

According to its website, Glovo had about 12,000 riders in March. It said it plans to hire 2,000 of them as staff by the end of the year and more in the following months. For the other riders, the company said in a statement it has updated its employment model to provide “the flexibility, autonomy and independence valued by the majority of our fleet.”

In its ruling last year, the Supreme Court said riders should be employed because, no matter how much flexibility and independence they are given, it is the companies that own the brand and the technology and provide the clients.

Daniel Gutierrez - a former courier who founded the labour association Riders x Derechos - said, “Glovo said they’ve changed two or three functions in the app and that now workers can be self-employed; it’s simply absurd.”

Glovo’s new algorithm reportedly favours its new contract staff when it allocates jobs, so there is less work for those who are not full employees. That could lead to remaining freelancers racing to underbid each other in an attempt to secure dwindling orders. Mr Gutierrez said his collective has tried to set a minimum delivery price, but he worries it will not hold.

The Spanish legislation represents the latest obstacle for a gig economy that relies on casual labour with few of the rights allocated to full employees, despite recent court challenges forcing the industry to make some concessions.

Just Eat Takeaway.com’s Spanish business was already using couriers employed by subcontractors and is now negotiating a collective agreement with the country’s main unions, the company said.

Only a quarter of Spain’s couriers have been given fixed contracts so far, according to the Professional Association of Autonomous Riders. Many of them are with employment agencies, not the delivery platforms themselves.

“The quality of the subcontract leaves a lot to be desired,” Hector Merino - president of Asoriders, another collective - said. Last week Mr Merino was offered work that involved giving one-third of his tips to an agency. “We went from being falsely self-employed to being very precariously employed,” he said.

Source: Business Live

(Via Bloomberg News)