100 days of the ‘Rider law’: new landing of delivery ‘apps’

  • Getir, Gorillas, Rocket and Daja start operating in Spain, while Deliveroo retreats to other markets

The ‘Rider law’ has been a turnaround on the board of the food delivery platforms in Spain. This week marks 100 days of its entry into force and up to four new applications are operational for the local consumer. While four arrive, one leaves: Deliveroo has already set a date for its end in Spain, which will be on November 29. And the rest of the references in the sector have been forced to reconvert their work model, with Glovo implementing its own path, which generates notable doubts of legality; UberEats resigned to subcontracting the delivery and JustEat negotiating a new company agreement to internalize the subcontractors.

“There is demand & rdquor ;, is the reflection that all sources consulted for this report share. Foreign investors continue to see a market with potential in Spain. As is the case with Bring. This company of Turkish origin founded in Istanbul In 2015, 2021 has experienced an international ‘boom’. On September 15, it began operating in Spain and already has a fleet of more than 300 delivery people and 19 warehouses, 13 in Madrid and six in Barcelona. The market niche that explodes is that of bringing grocery shopping to home, unlike others that focus more on restaurants or those that bring anything.

Getir’s lilac and yellow backpacks will soon begin to be seen in the main cities of the country, according to company sources. Backpacks carried by ‘riders’ with an employment contract, not self-employed. This is the common denominator of all the new applications that have been installed in Spain, such as Gorillas (of German capital), Rocket (Ukrainian capital) o I knew (of British capital). These firms not only advertise that they directly hire their delivery men, unlike the false self-employed model – according to multiple courts and labor inspectorates – that has been prevailing until now among Glovo, UberEats and Deliveroo. But they also advertise specific job placement programs for groups with difficulties. “It is a way to differentiate yourself from the competition & rdquor ;, points out the coordinator of the ESADE Institute of Labor Studies, Anna Genes.

Although even though the ‘Rider law’ makes it explicit that ‘riders’ must be governed by an employment relationship, this does not prevent psychosocial risks from continuing to be a pending issue in the sector. All of them sell that deliver the purchase “in minutes”. “When you push your margins to the limit, you inevitably force your workers to go to the limit. And that is a serious risk & rdquor ;, points out Ginès. “We try to adjust margins through investment in warehouses, not through delivery guys & rdquor ;, Getir justifies them.

After the phase that the delivery men had no right to unemployment, paid vacations, or sick leave due to temporary disability, the labor struggle now focuses on these issues. The prevention of risks and the improvement of wages are the main focuses where the unions are pushing the most. The recourse of companies in the sector to resort to collective agreements, such as that of the courier, which pay below others such as that of the hospitality industry, is one of the ways to avoid paying more labor costs. At the moment there is no collective agreement that specifically regulates distribution via digital platforms.

The transparency of the algorithm is not being a barrier

One of the arguments put on the table by detractors when the ‘Rider law’ was passed was that the obligation of any company to account to its workers for the labor implications of the algorithms it will use could be a barrier market entry. Well, it was presented as a competitive disadvantage, since stripping the algorithm could make it easier for other companies to take advantage of that transparency.

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The UPF professor of economics and business, Juan Jose Ganuza, he does not see that this is happening, mainly because he considers that that part of the law is “inapplicable& rdquor ;. “The concept is not well defined and I see it more as a declaration of intent than as a real barrier for companies & rdquor ;, he points out. “And it is very important that there is not a single platform that monopolizes the entire sector, because it prevents that through this position of force the entry of new & rdquor;”, he adds.

“That now there is room for new platforms is clear, beyond the ‘Rider law’. But it is not clear to me that the business model of these platforms is sustainable over time. Economically viable yes, but sustainable I have doubts, because in the end there is a monopoly effect because they all try to take over the market and establish themselves as the main reference, both for users and shops or restaurants. Now there are many, but in a few years I don’t know how many there will be & rdquor ;, points out Esade’s teacher.

Reference-www.elperiodico.com

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