During the lockdown, takeaway services with home deliveries were a godsend and the sector boomed. Amongst such companies was Glovo.

Glovo uses fleets of youngsters on bicycles to deliver food, connecting restaurants and pizzerias that provide takeaways to the customers who can’t or prefer not to, go and pick them up.

For young people, especially students, it’s quick money and all you need is a bicycle and a lot of stamina. Furthermore, in a relatively flat city like Granada, deliveries are rapid.

It wasn’t long though before this new form of employment started to generate discontent between the company; in this case Glovo, and its riders.

In Granada around 200 riders have been running a go-slow as a protest over a cut to their delivery fees, which were 2.50 euros but are now just 1.30 euro per drop.

The riders either don’t take the calls from the office, indicating that they are not available, or they inform the restaurant not to prepare the food until they get there – because they are going to take their time arriving – that way at least the customer receives hot food although after a long wait.

Something that has been an attributing factor to this discord was the introduction of the Ley Rider, which came into force about five months ago and sort to cut down on salary abuse, amongst other things. This law meant that the riders had to be officially employed and their Social Security paid. However, instead of improving their conditions, it made them worse; hence the delivery-fee rate being cut to compensate for the cost of covering their S.S. payments.

Most riders, however, wish to remain as autónomos rather than direct employees, but the new law won’t permit it. However, they don’t object to going on the company books, as long as they are paid decent salaries.

You will be astounded to read that these riders, in some cases, earnt between 2,000 and 2,500 euros a month, but on the other hand they were putting in 10-to-12-hour work days, seven days a week.

The app that was used by the company and riders did limit them to working no more than eight hours a day but now there is no limit so the workday begins at 08.00h and ends around 00.30h the next morning on weekends.

Getting back to the go-slow, the riders choose peak times to be ‘unavailable’ such as during important, televised football matches (Supercopa) or weekends at meal times.

(News: City & Metropolitan Area)