FILE – In this 5 November 2020 file photo, food delivery riders protest against government restrictive measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Milan, Italy. Italy is cracking down on bicycle delivery service companies, with a Milan prosecutor saying the riders, most of them immigrants, are practically treated like slaves. Milan prosecutors on Wednesday said at a press conference that four delivery companies in Italy had been given 90 days to correct their treatment of motorists.
FILE – In this November 6, 2020 file photo, a food delivery driver pushes his bicycle into the Vittorio Emanuele shopping arcade in Milan, Italy. Italy is cracking down on bicycle delivery service companies, with a Milan prosecutor saying the riders, most of them immigrants, are practically treated like slaves. Milan prosecutors on Wednesday said at a press conference that four delivery companies in Italy had been given 90 days to correct their treatment of motorists.
FILE – In this November 10, 2020 file photo, a food delivery rider cycles on an empty road in Milan, Italy. Italy is cracking down on bicycle delivery service companies, with a Milan prosecutor saying the riders, most of them immigrants, are practically treated like slaves. Milan prosecutors on Wednesday said at a press conference that four delivery companies in Italy had been given 90 days to correct their treatment of motorists.
By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press
ROME (AP) – Italy is pursuing an online food delivery company, with a prosecutor lamenting Wednesday that food-delivered cyclists, many of them immigrants, are practically being treated like slaves.
Milan prosecutors said four major shipping companies in Italy had been given 90 days to improve their treatment of motorists, including providing safe bicycles, accident compensation, employment contracts and training, among other job protections.
Authorities also issued a fine of 733 million euros ($ 880 million). Prosecutor Tiziana Siciliano said the delivery “represents a fundamental relationship, without which business cannot function.”
The Italian news agency LaPresse said three out of four companies issued statements expressing surprise and arguing that they offered people flexibility and security of delivery.
With cafes and restaurants closed entirely or partially for months under pandemic restrictions, motorists carrying take-out food boxes are crammed into big cities and towns to help keep many Italians eating and safe in their homes.
The four companies have about 60,000 cyclists and motorbikes, almost none of whom work on any contracts, pension contributions, paid vacations, sick leave or accident benefits, prosecutors in Milan said.