Milan – Wages up to 76% below the poverty line and compensation well below the minimums set by collective bargaining agreements. This is the picture emerging from the investigation by the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office, which led today to the judicial review of Foodinho srl, a delivery company of the Spanish group Glovo, for gangmastering.
The emergency measure was issued by Public Prosecutor Paolo Storari. The measure must now be assessed by a preliminary investigations judge.
The prosecutor's investigation
According to investigations conducted by the Carabinieri of the Labor Inspectorate, the riders employed by the platform—approximately 2.000 in Milan and 40.000 throughout Italy—were paid wages that amounted to labor exploitation.
Pierre Miquel Oscar, a Spanish citizen and director of Foodinho, has been placed under investigation, accused of gangmastering along with the company. As sole director, the prosecutor writes, he allegedly "employed labor in exploitative conditions, taking advantage of the workers' need."
Wages below the minimum
The judicial review decree states that, in some cases, riders were paid wages up to 76,95% below the poverty line and up to 81,62% below the parameters set by collective bargaining.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, these wages do not guarantee a "free and dignified existence" and are "contrary" to the collective agreements signed by the trade unions.
Judicial administrator appointed
The emergency order appointed Andrea Adriano Romanò, an accountant, as judicial administrator of Foodinho srl. The Prosecutor's Office entrusted him with the task of regularizing the status of all delivery drivers who, at the time of the investigation, were working for the company.
The administrator will also have to verify compliance with the rules and working conditions and adopt new organizational structures, even if they differ from those indicated by the entrepreneur.
Prevent further abuse
The aim of the measure, investigators explain, is to prevent the recurrence of the gangmastering practices described in the 54-page order. The investigation follows other inquiries conducted in recent years by the Milan Prosecutor's Office into large logistics and platform-based labor groups accused of systematic labor exploitation.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
The article highlights a serious problem in the labor sector, but it's unclear how it can be resolved. Riders deserve better treatment, but solutions are complicated and take time.