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Food delivery company Glovo has caused outrage in Italy by offering gig workers bonuses for working in a blistering heatwave, forcing it to “temporarily deactivate” the scheme.
In a message to their riders in Italy earlier this week, Glovo said it would pay bonuses ranging from 2 to 8 per cent, depending on the heat, for deliveries made in temperatures of more than 32C. Payment was to be made in mid-September.
It said the extra money was to help the riders — many of them migrant workers from South Asia and Africa — to buy water, sunscreen and rehydration salts. The offer came as many parts of Italy banned physical labour during peak heat hours.
But amid a mounting public outcry, Glovo said on Thursday that it had temporarily paused the scheme “for deliveries made during the hottest time slots of the day”, and that it would “continue to monitor the evolution of the weather situation and take all necessary measures to ensure safe working conditions”.
It also said it was suspending its afternoon services in the northern Piedmont region to comply with a local order.
Glovo had promised riders a 2 per cent bonus for deliveries in temperatures of between 32C and 36C, 6 per cent for between 36C and 40C, and an 8 per cent bonus if riders deliver when temperatures exceed 40C.
“Your security is our priority,” the initial communication to riders said. “We know that this heat emergency can result in unexpected costs to protect yourself.”
Italian labour unions criticised the scheme, saying it encouraged gig workers to continue riding their bicycles and scooters during the fierce heat, at risk to their health.
“Offering financial incentives [to induce] fragile migrant gig workers without a proper contract to ride at higher temperatures is incorrect and unacceptable,” said Roberta Turi, a senior leader of the CGIL labour union.
“Health cannot be exchanged for money,” she added. CGIL has formed a new arm to advocate for the rights of gig workers and other freelancers.
“It’s full-blown blackmail disguised as a bonus,” said Senator Mariolina Castellone, of the populist Five-Star Movement.
Italy and much of Europe is in the midst of a record-breaking heatwave. In response, many Italian regions have issued orders banning outdoor physical labour in sectors such as agriculture and construction from midday until the late afternoon, after a 47-year-old construction worker died in Bologna earlier this week of suspected heat stroke.
In a statement, CGIL said that delivery riders should also be covered by such rulings. “In the event of heatwaves . . . the activity must be suspended,” it said.
Glovo, which was founded in Spain a decade ago and bought by Delivery Hero in 2022, has previously said its riders in Italy had “maximum freedom of choice” on how and when to work and that the heat bonus was “a compensatory measure and does not represent in any way an incentive to performance”. It operates in 23 countries.
Italy has about 30,000 gig workers in total, using motorbikes, bicycles and scooters to delivery food, groceries and other shopping to consumers.
In 2022, a judge in the southern Italian city of Palermo ordered Glovo and other delivery platforms to provide water, rehydration salts and sunblock to its riders, after several drivers suffered severe heatstroke in extreme temperatures.
Earlier this week, rival food delivery platform Just Eat temporarily suspended deliveries in several parts of Belgium because of extreme temperatures, having decided it was too hot for riders to safely work.
