"Spain agrees on labor reform that will recognize delivery platform riders as employees", 11 March 2021

Spain’s government has reached an agreement with trade unions and business associations over labor reforms that will see delivery platform couriers recognized as employees, it said today.

Once such a law is passed, the development could have major ramifications for platforms operating in the market — which include the likes of Deliveroo, Glovo and UberEats, to name a few...

...Agreement on the reform means the government can now start to move forward with the legislative process after many months negotiating on exactly how to change labor laws.

The timing looks especially interesting as the European Union is also considering how to improve conditions for gig workers more broadly — so Spain’s plan to legislate, ahead of other EU countries, to recognize a subset of gig workers as employees could be influential in shaping wider regional policy...

...The labor reform agreement follows a number of legal challenges in Spain in recent years over the classification of delivery riders.

...A spokesperson for Uber sent [...] this statement in response to the Spanish government’s announcement:

Over the past few weeks, thousands of couriers across the country have come together to stand against this proposed regulation that would deprive them from the independence they value most. At Uber, we are fully committed to raising the standard of work and giving independent workers more benefits while preserving flexibility and control. We want to work with all relevant parties across Spain to improve independent work, instead of eliminating it.

Deliveroo also sent [...] this statement:

This proposal goes against the interests of riders who value flexible work, restaurants who benefit from delivery services and customers who value on-demand delivery. Thousands of riders who took to the streets to protest their desire to remain self-employed have had their voices ignored...

...Glovo declined to make a statement at this time.