A coalition of food-delivery companies on Wednesday unveiled a deal with a far-right-affiliated Italian union, pushing through their version of employee protection for gig workers as an alternative to classifying them as employees.
The companies, which include Uber, Deliveroo, Glovo, JustEat and others, believe their approach to labor relations — not directly employing delivery workers but providing them with a minimum wage and bonuses — will help avoid a 2019 law that could force them to grant more rights and benefits to delivery workers than they would like.
“This is an important step forward which shows that it is possible to increase the security of self-employed workers in the EU,” said Matteo Sarzana, the general manager of Deliveroo Italy and the president of Assodelivery, a lobby group representing delivery companies.
