Grocery delivery services are also booming in the corona crisis. But from the point of view of the employees, growth is at the expense of working conditions.
Order butter, bread and beer online and have them delivered within ten minutes without paying significantly more than in the supermarket: The promises of new delivery service start-ups such as Gorillas, Flink or Getir sound tempting.
But from the employee’s point of view, the price for this convenience is paid primarily by the employees in the warehouses and the drivers, the so-called riders.
For weeks they have been protesting for better working conditions, especially at the young Berlin delivery service Gorillas, organizing sit-ins in front of the camps and spontaneously stopping work. Among other things, they criticize their fixed-term employment contracts, the high time pressure, poor equipment and unpunctual and incorrect payment. This Tuesday, Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) joined the dispute and met in Berlin-Kreuzberg to talk to the riders and warehouse workers.
“As the Minister of Labor, I cannot take part directly in labor disputes, but I can inform myself,” he said. Heil again spoke out in favor of the end of unfounded time limits. He called on workers to join forces with the established unions in the labor dispute.
Those affected expressed disappointment after the conversation. They expected the minister to support them in their strike, said employee Jakob Pomeranzev. The only concrete proposal was to involve the Berlin Senate. The riders had previously reported in the conversation about a lack of equipment, inadequate occupational safety and obstacles in the establishment of a works council.
At the end of November, Heils Ministry had already presented a key issues paper to regulate the working conditions on digital platforms more closely. The main concern here is more social protection for the self-employed and the possibility of setting up collective bargaining organizations such as works councils. However, the employees of gorillas are usually permanent. They accuse the company of sticking to the six-month probationary period despite fixed-term contracts of one year in order to be able to get rid of drivers quickly.
The protests at the company have so far been organized by the Gorillas Workers Collective (GWC), a loose association of employees. They organize themselves primarily via the Telegram messenger service, plan the actions there and use the platform as an information channel. They use Twitter to appeal for donations in order to be able to compensate for the loss of wages after work stoppages.
As a rule, the employees are not organized in a union. However, Verdi offers them support, for example with a planned establishment of a works council. It’s not easy. The workers were particularly skeptical on Tuesday: “The unions support us, but they do not want to bear the risk of our strikes,” said Pomeranzev, who is part of the GWC. The Verdi union secretary Maren Ulbrich had already said on Monday: “We have offered our support and will help where the employees are active and organize themselves in a union.”
Heil also met with the company’s management before the talks with the employees. The employer side is at least outwardly cooperative. “The interests of our riders are important to us and we take their feedback extremely seriously,” the company announced on Saturday during the protest. “We expressly and unreservedly support the establishment of a works council at Gorillas and will of course provide all the necessary funds for this.” The employees did not reach them on Tuesday with such statements.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
