Reference News Network reported on March 23, Agence France-Presse reports that Italian prosecutors recently notified YouFood and other food delivery platforms that their food delivery workers are employees, not independent workers. The platforms were fined €733 million for violating labor safety regulations.

According to the report, the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office said in a statement that between 2017 and 2020, more than 60,000 food delivery workers working for YouFood, Glovo, Open Food Network, and “Food Delivery Kangaroo” companies must sign non-permanent contracts with fixed remuneration.

Milan's chief prosecutor Francesco Greco said at a press conference: “We can no longer treat food delivery workers as slaves; it's time to treat them as citizens in need of legal protection.”

The prosecutor believes that the four companies mentioned above should also pay past social security and insurance benefits. The prosecution did not specify the amount due, but such a bill could amount to hundreds of millions of euros.

Additionally, prosecutors said food delivery workers should be provided with “necessary” equipment, including helmets, gloves, reflective clothing, and COVID-19 protective masks, as well as bicycles or scooters provided by the company.

Companies must meet these requirements within 90 days.

According to the report, these companies were also ordered to pay fines totaling about 733 million euros to cooperate with the Italian authorities in resolving labor safety issues. This amount is likely to rise as a result of their other irregularities.

UberA company spokesperson said that the San Francisco-based company is committed to “improving work standards”, providing employees with more benefits while maintaining flexibility in their working methods and hours.

Uber said, “Over the past few months, we've developed a landmark framework for Italian food delivery workers to strengthen protection, bring them more benefits, and work to establish new health and safety standards.”

The industry associations representing the four companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Italy's largest trade union, the Italian Federation of Trade Unions, said the prosecutor's move was “good news” and that food delivery workers needed to be protected by the country's labor contract.

The report commented that the ban hit the core of the so-called “gig economy.” The gig economy relies on hundreds of thousands of freelancers to provide app-based services such as food delivery or scooters.

Uber has long argued that its business model provides flexibility and control for its employees; they can choose when or how much work to do; it also warns that the number of employees will decrease if they consider themselves employees.

Critics, however, argue that the company refuses to treat freelancers as employees, leading to low wages, lack of health insurance, and other benefits.

Last November, Uber won a major victory in California, USA. Voters passed an Uber vote proposal to preserve the status of gig workers while providing some health services and a minimum wage.

The EU is currently considering this issue.

The report also said that on February 19, the British Supreme Court ruled that Uber's drivers and food delivery workers are employees, not independent workers. (Compile/Tu Qi)