PL | EN

A trial of Uber Eats in Italy

There is a trial ongoing of Uber Eats in Italy over alleged exploitation of migrants and asylum seekers. On May 29, a Milan court placed the Italian branch of the food delivery platform on the temporary suspension of payments for allegedly exploiting their riders, many of whom are migrants. Milan prosecutors on October 12 closed the investigation, with ten people under investigation, including the manager.

The prosecutors found that riders, some of them living in migrants reception centres, were paid just ‘three euros per delivery’, were robbed of their tips and punished when made mistakes. Most of them are migrants from Bangladesh, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Mali and Pakistan.

Similar abuses have been reported in other countries. A year ago, the New York Times reported how delivery companies exploited “desperate migrants” in France, paying them 3.50 euros per order. The article included the story of a teenager who had lived in an abandoned car after arriving from Tunisia. He earned 17 euros for four hours of delivering food during the day he spoke to the journalist.

Amidst the pandemic, as food delivery is booming and riders face exposure to the virus, in Brazil, Uber workers protested against their conditions. In Spain, the General Union of Workers (UGT) has recently released a report warning the “situation of slavery suffered by migrant workers” riding for these delivery platforms.

More about: Migration
Read also
The impact of drought on human pregnancy and health and contraceptive pills
The impact of drought on human pregnancy and health and contraceptive pills
According to research conducted at the Université du Québec in Montreal, the use of oral contraceptive pills containing synthetic hormones may impair the areas of a woman’s brain responsible for regulating fear. Women taking combined contraceptive pills had thinner ventromedial prefrontal cortex than men. This area of the brain is associated with emotional responses, decision-making, […]
New energy sources: ISA, Germany and the Czech Republic
New energy sources: ISA, Germany and the Czech Republic
The International Solar Alliance (ISA), comprising 116 countries (including the USA, France, Germany, Great Britain, India and over 30 African countries), is to allocate almost USD 35 million to construct mini-grids and rooftop installations mainly in Africa. The alliance’s financial mechanism, the Global Solar Facility, is to collect USD 100 million to help implement photovoltaic […]
Israel – Palestine crisis and international reactions
Israel – Palestine crisis and international reactions
According to former Israeli Prime Minister Ja’ir Lapid, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s support for Hamas is a “disgrace” to the country, and it will take a long time to improve Israeli-Turkish relations. Relations between these countries have never been stable as they competed for regional dominance. However, there was a significant rapprochement before the […]
Sustainable construction of skyscrapers and the Bologna tower
Sustainable construction of skyscrapers and the Bologna tower
The Sara Cultural Center in Skellefteå, Sweden, is one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world and an experiment in sustainable architecture. The building is approximately 80 m high, has 20 floors and is made of wood from local forests. The project is “carbon negative” – 5,631 t of CO₂ generated during logging, transport […]
Loneliness: new definitions and loneliness among EU residents
Loneliness: new definitions and loneliness among EU residents
Why do scientists expand the definition of loneliness to include the feeling of disconnection from animals, places, habits, rituals or weather? For example, Turkana shepherds in Kenya have to abandon their seasonal lifestyle due to climate change, droughts and violence in the region. Families are separated from farm animals, and social bonds based on the […]
Previous issues