Another penalty for Glovo, Spain’s homegrown on-demand delivery app and dark store operator, was fined nearly 57 million euros ($62 million) for violating local labor laws, and more than 7,800 of its 7,800 employees in Madrid were fined. couriers were incorrectly classified as self-operated couriers.employed, according to a local newspaper daily.
Citing sources familiar with the Labor Ministry’s investigation into Glovo, the newspaper reported that the penalties were divided into a €32.9 million fine for violations of labor law; €19 million in social security payments not paid to riders it falsely claimed were self-employed; and €5.2 million in fines. Euro visa violations as inspectors found Glovo employing many foreigners without work permits.
The fines are just the latest for the Barcelona-based delivery platform, which was launched in 2015. According to the newspaper, the total amounted to more than 200 million euros.
Recently Glovo was fined $79 million last September – Also used to misclassify delivery workers as self-employed (so-called autonomy) — in this case, a total of more than 10,000 riders operating in two cities: its hometown and Valencia.
The company has previously been fined smaller fines for labor violations in other regions including Tarragona, Girona, Lleida and Seville.
Glovo confirmed the latest sanctions.However, the delivery platform continues to challenge all labor law violation penalties — and A spokesperson told TechCrunch that it will review the latest “Punishment Proposal,” as she puts it.
As is the general rule of thumb for gig economy delivery platforms, Glovo has relied on the sweat of its thousands of couriers not classified as employees to expand the use of its fast urban delivery service — seeking to sprint platforms and mobile ahead of laws drafted long before the rise of digital. Rigorous algorithmic management of a technology-enabled distributed workforce.
Yet as legal challenges from workers and unions surge – a series of blows to model critics has been likened to sweatshop — Lawmakers in Europe have recognized technology-powered efforts to “platform” circumvention of labor laws designed to protect workers from exploitation and fight back.
step back 2020For example, Spain’s Supreme Court dealt a major blow when it ruled that it classified riders as self-employed. Subsequently, 2021the country’s lawmakers agreed to a labor law reform aimed at forcing delivery platforms to hire couriers – the so-called “riders”.
The Spanish coalition government also Recently proposed further reforms – Bosses of unruly gig economy platforms could be seen flouting the law and continuing to exploit workers through self-serving misclassification of employment, facing up to six years in prison.
All sanctions Glovo has faced to date autonomy The problem has to do with the employment model it claims worked before the Riding Act came into effect.
Since the Rider reforms came into effect in August 2021, its response has not put an end to claims that delivery couriers are self-employed. Instead, it says it has tweaked its model – claiming to be compliant despite continuing to work with many “self-employed” riders who are struggling to deliver customers’ stuff. (It also appears to use some riders subcontracted and hired by third parties).
The reboot of the model has drawn criticism that Spain’s ride-hailing isn’t working as intended — while calling for greater clarity to prevent platforms from using operational tweaks as a tactic to reset legal challenges to zero, leaving workers in the same position as those with rights. edge.
Glovo’s claims of compliance with reformed labor rules have yet to be concretely tested.But in the comments of the report daily Spanish Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz is tough on the industry — Last fall, she warned that she would ask the prosecutor’s office to investigate any “traitorous” multinational corporations that tried to evade the requirement to hire delivery workers.
The newspaper also reported that the government was considering how to prosecute Glover under the new criminal law.
narrowing the scope, EU lawmakers have also been eyeing the sector in recent years, after 2021 Proposal To introduce a rebuttable presumption of employment for gig workers across the EU by the European Commission.but the legislative plan Continue to divide EU lawmakers It’s not clear when (or even if) these differences could be resolved (while given the relatively limited time this committee has) – a necessary step if the proposals (however amended) are to make it pan-EU law.
That said, with many member states becoming more active on the issue of gig worker rights, it is clear that EU lawmakers are under pressure to find a way to agree on uniform rules – and prevent the single market from being overwhelmed by workers’ rights. Divided further – less likely to unwind.
