"Gig Economy Project – “My life is worth more than a sandwich”: Strike in Florence after death of a rider", 5 Oct 2022

FOOD delivery couriers in the Italian city of Florence took 24-hours strike action on Wednesday [5 October] to demand better health & safety conditions, after the tragic death of the Glovo rider Sebastian Galassi, who died after a road accident while working on Saturday evening.

Galassi, 26, was involved in a crash with a Land Rover while travelling on a scooter and died from his injuries in hospital. An investigation is currently taking place into the cause of the accident.

The day after, Galassi’s family read an e-mail which had been sent to his address from Glovo, an automated message almost 24 hours after the fatal accident stating: “We are sorry to have to inform you that your account has been deactivated for non-compliance with the Terms and Conditions”. The family said that they were shocked and angered by the message, but Glovo had contacted them to apologise for it shortly after, saying it was “sent by mistake”, and offering to pay funeral costs.

Four unions, Cgil , Filcams Cgil, Filt Cgil and Nidil Cgil, announced the 24-hour strike following “another unacceptable death, in a sector where safety at work is still too often a right to be conquered, just as decent wages and rights are often a chimera, within a system that pushes productivity to the detriment of safeguards.” ...

Video footage showed a large group of Deliveroo, Just Eat and Glovo riders gathered in the Piazza...

Glovo, the Spanish headquartered food delivery company which is owned by German multi-national Delivery Hero, put out a message on Sunday stating: “We are deeply heartbroken to know that a courier was the victim of a car accident that took place last night in Florence. We are getting in touch with the family to support them in this difficult moment. The details of the incident are not yet known, however, an investigation is currently underway and we are at the disposal of the competent authorities.”